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MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



[1870-1880.] 



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PRESS OF 

.JOHNSON, SMITH & HARRISON, 

MTNKKAPOLIS. 



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PREFACE. 



The Committee on Publication are gratified in being able to send out 
another volume of Collectionfl, one which they trust will be received with 
the same generous favor that the other publications of the Society have 
been accorded. 

It is now ten vean since the first part of the present volume,(page6 1 — 138) 
was issued. We had expected at that time to have sent out parte 11 and 
III more promptly, but circumstanoee which we could not control, such as 
want of means, etc., prevented the more prompt issue of the remaining 
portion of the volume. (Part II was issued in 1874). But it must not be 
supposed that these ten years was a period of inactivity on our part. 
During that time, in addition to completing the present volume, the 
Society published two other large volumes, viz: a republication of the 
parts composing Vol. I. of our Collections, a work of 519 pages, issued in 
1872; and also, our Vol. IV., which is altogether devoted to the "Hir.tory 
of Saint Paul, and County of Ramsey" — a large and finely illustrated 
volume, of 475 pages, published in 1876. Thus the Society has, within 
ten years, published three large volumes on the history of this State, — 
certainlv an activity in this department of work, which we believe has 
been surpassed by but few societies in our country. 

The designs of these ** CoUections ** is to gather up all the historical 
facts regarding Minnesota, or its people, that we are able, from such 
writers as will contribute them, and by publishing the same, at once pre- 
serve and disseminate the information contained therein. As in our 
VoVs. I and II., the present volume is made up of papers and addresses 
on various subjects connected with our histoiy, memoirs of pioneers of the 
State, and of its public men, and reminiscences of the old settlers of the 
same, still living. A miscellany of this kind seemp to have been received 
with much favor in our former volumes, and we believe that Vol. Ill 
will be found quite as interesting and valuable, in that line, as either. In 
contents so varied, all can find something to interest them, or suit their 
taste, and the volumes form a sort of store-house of materials for history, 
where other writers can get information and fiEusts to aid them. Most of 
the sketches have been contributed by writers of fine ability and high 
reputation as authors. It might be here noted by the commit^^ee, that all 
statements of iact made by the writers, are given over their own name 
and on their own authority, and the Society should not be held responsi- 
ble for them. 



iv MIN^neSOTA HISTOBIOAL COLLBOnOKS. 

It will be observed that a considerable portion of this volume relates to 
the Indian nations which once occupied all of our State, and to incidents 
of the ** Indian period " of our history. The importance of securing all 
that we can, regarding this rapidly disappearing race, will be recognized. 
In a few years they will be so nearly extinct, or so changed in customs 
and religion, that the primitive Indian, as found by the early settiers of 
Minnesota, will be only a matter of history. We cannot too diligently 
collect and record all valuable and interesting facts regarding them, from 
those who can supply them. Succeeding generations will read of that 
people, and indeed most persons do now, with absorbing interest. The 
Indian period of our northwestern histoiy will be the most romantic and 
thrilling chapter in the records of its discovery and settiement, and the 
history of the Red Race is so interwoven with that of our State, that it 
cannot be omitted, and therefore devolves on us the duty of chronidmg 
whatever we can, regarding them. 

Another considerable portion of the present volume is given to memoirs 
and obituaiy sketches of the pioneers of the State, and others, who have 
been prominentiv connected with its public affairs. The design was to 
properly record the part borne by the men who had in early days, helped 
to mould the " plastic elements of empire " in our commonwealth, or who 
had taken a leading part in public life more recently, and to do just honor 
to their memoirs. The value of biography as a study, is becoming more 
and more recognized, as all will observe who read much of the current 
literature of the day, and the committee hoped to have more of this class 
of contributions. In fact, several additional ones had been promised, but 
were not received in time. Only two or three complete, formally pre- 
pured memoirs, are given in this volume. The rest are collections, or 
groups of sketches, by different persons. It appeared to the committee 
that this form would be found valuable, as containing the estimates of 
the deceased, from his different associates, and thus giving a many-sided 
view of the subject, from different stand points. 

Nor should it be supposed that any arbiti:ary rule governed the com- 
mittee in the inclusion of t<he memoirs printed, or the exclusion of others 
not given. We have published all that we have been able to secure. It 
is our design to give in these collections, a well written memoir of every 
deceased prominent pioneer, or public man in our State, from the begin- 
ning of our histoiy, down. And we urge our members and correspondents 
who may have the material and opportunity, to enable them to do so, to 
prepare full and complete memoirs of any deceased Minnesotian, in whose 
memory they may feel an interest, as soon as possible after his death, and 
forward the same to us. They will be printed as fast hs possible in these 
Collection^, and should any delay occur, the manuscript will be carefully 
preserved in our archives. 

Materials for the biographies of the earlier settiers of our State, ought 
to be secured from the subjects themselves. These pioneers are rapidly 
passing away, and promptness and diligence is necessary to secure their 



PBZFACB. y 

reminiflceiiceB of our early history. Much of that early history is as yet 
nnrecorded, and exists only in the memory of these a^ed men,tmd mast 
perish at their death. To collect and record these facts, is one of the most 
important objects 6f oux Society, and we cannot admonish our members 
and correspondents to too much diligence in that field. 

We had hoped to be able to illustrate this yolume with portraits of sev- 
eral of the subjects of the memoirs contained then^in, but were able to 
secure, in season to include in it, only one such engraving, that ot Rbv. 
JoHK Mattocks, kindly furnished by his son, John Mattocks, Esq., 
of Chicago, which is appropriately placed as a Irontispiece of the volume. 
Diligent efforts will be made to secure for our succeeding volumes, en- 
fifiavings of all our pioneers and men prominently identified with our 
State history, which can be obtained. 

In closing, we may justly be pardoned a word regarding the Society 
itself. It is now thirty years since it was organized, though it is only dur- 
ing the last half of that period that we have had means or opportunity to 
properly cany on our work. The Society now has commodious apart- 
ments, a fair income, and has accumulated a valuable and choice hbrary 
of 9,000 bound and 12.000 unbound volumes, of which 700 are Minnesota 
newspapers; 400 maps, several hundred curiosities, pictures, manuscripts, 
etc., the whole valued at $50,000, though it could not be replaced for 
much more than that sum. This collection, to a large extent, has been 
the gift of our friends; and in the hope that we are meriting by our 
dilieence, and good management of the trust, those generous favors, we 
send out these "Collections." COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION. 

St. Paul, July, 1880. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE SOCIETT. 



President— HON. fl. H. SIBLEY. 

Vice-Presidents— 1. Hon. A. RAMSEY. 2. Caft. R. BLAKELEY. 

Secretary and Librarian— J. FLETCHER WILLIAMS. 

Treasurer— HENRY P. UPHAM. 

Members of ExscunYE Councii^. 

Ex Officio. 

His Excellency, John S. Pillsbuiy, Governor. 
Hon. Charles A. Gilman, Lientenant Governor. 
Hon. Frederick Yon Baumbach, Secretary of State, 
Hon. Orlen P. Whitcomb, Auditor of State. 
Hon. Charles Eittelson, Treasurer of State. 
Hon. Charles M. Start, Attorney-General. 

Elective. 

Gen. C. C. Andrews, St. Paul, Gen. R. W. Johnson, St Paul, 

Gun. James H. Baker, Mankato, Hon. N. W. Kittson, St Paul, 

Hon. Jarod Benson, Anoka. Hon. John D. Ludden, St Paul, 

Hon. John M. Berry, Minneapolis, Hon. Wm. R. Marshall, St. Paul, 

Capt. Russell Blakeley, St. Paul, Charles E. Mayo, Esq., St. Paul, 

J. B. Chaney, Esq., St. Paul, Rev. E. D. Neill, Minneapolis, 

Hon. W. P. Cloujfh, St. Paul, Hon. Alex. Ramsey, St. Paul, 

Hon. Gk>rdon E. Cole, Faribault, Gen. John B. Sanborn, St. Paul, 

Hon. F. R. Delano, St Paul, Gen. H. H. Sibley, St. Paul, 

Hon. E. F. Drake, St. Paul, Hon. John H. Stevens, Minneapolis, 

Hon. Lewis H. Garrard, Lake City, R. 0. Sweeney, Esq,, St. Paul, 

Col. Earle S. Goodrich, St. Paul, Henry P. Upham, Esq., St. Paul, 

Geo. A. Hamilton, Esq., St. Paul, J. Fletcher Williams, St. Paul, 

James J. Hill, Esq., St. Paul Hon. H. B. Wilson, Red Wing, 

Rt Rev. John Ireland, St. Paul, Hon. lliomas Wilson, Winona. 

Standing Committees. 

Organization— E. F. Drake, John M. Berry and Thomas Wilson. 
Permanent Building— R. iUakeley, J. B. Chaney and Jared Benson. 
Finance— R. P. Upham, J. D. Ludden and R, W. Johnfon. 
Library— Q. A. Hamilton, H. P. Upham, and J. F. Williams. 
Publication— 'Ei. S. Goodrich, John Ireland and E. D. NeiU. 
Property— k\eiX. Ramsey, J. H. Baker and Charles E. Mayo. 
Obituaries— Yf . R. Marshall, C. C. Andrews and H. B. Wilson. 
Lectures— W* P, Clough, G. E. Cole and J. B. Sanborn. 
Endowment Fund — ^John Ireland, Job. J. Hill and Jno. H. Stevens. 
General Business— 'B,. 0. Sweeney, F. R. Delane and L. H. Garrard. 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Preface : lii-v 

Officers of the Society vi 

ContentB vii-viii 

>l Belatiok of M. Pbnicault 

1 — Introductory note; by Rev. E. D. Neill . 1-4 

2 — Translation of the mjinusaipt; by A. J. Hill 4-12 

^ Bibliography of Minnesota; by J. F. Williams 13-76 

- A Reminiscence of Fort Snellinf? ; by Mrs. Charlotte 0. Van Cleve 76-81 
Narrative of Paul Mazakootamane; translated by Rev. S. R. 

Riggs 82-90 

Memoir of ex-Gov. Henry A. Swift; by J. F. Williams 91-98 

Sketch of John Other Day; by Gen H. H. Sibley 99-102 

A Coincidence; by Mrs. Charlotte 0. Van Cleve 103-107 

Memoir of Hon. James W. Lynd; by Rev. S. R. Riggs 107-114 

"•The Dakota Mission; by Rev. S. R. Riggs 115-128 

\ Indian Warfare in Minnesota; bv Rev. S. W. Pond 129^13^ 

,,-^FoRT Snbllino; Col. Lkvknwokth s Expedition in 1819.. 

1 — Note; by the Committee on Publication 139-140 

2— Journal of May Thomas Forsyth 140-167 

< Memoir of Jean Baptiste Faribault; by Gen. fl. H. Sibley 168-179 

Memoir of Capt. Martin Scott; by J. P. Williams 180-187 

Napehshneedoota, a Dakota Christian; by Rev. T. S. Williamson 188-191 

>/Memoir of Hercules L. Dousman; by Gen. H. H. Sibley 192-200 

"^ Memoir op Joseph R. Brown 

1 — Paper read belore the Minnesota Editorial Association ; 

by J. F. Williams 201-204 

2— Sketdi in the St. Paul Pioneer; by Earle S. Goodrich. ... 204 208 

3— Editorial in the St. Paul Press; by J. A. Wheelock 208-212 

Vllemoir of Hon. Cyrus Aldrich; by J. F. Williams 213-221 

VMemoirof Rev. Lucian C^altier; by Rt Rev. John Ireland, D. D. 222-230 

>' Memoir of Hon. David Olmstead; by J. F. Williams 231-241 

i Reminiscences of the Early Dats of Minnesota 

1— Paper; by, Hon. H. H. Sibley 242-277 

2— Note; by the Committee on Publication 277-288 



viu contents. 

Page. 
^~ The Sioux or Dakotas, of the Missouri River; by Rev. Thomas S. 

Williamson 283-2d4 

V/Memoir of Rev. S. T. McMasters, D. D; by Earle S. Goodrich. . 295-303 

y^TRIBUTBS TO THE MeMORT OF.ReY. JoKS MaTTOCKB 

1— Obituary sketch in St. Paul Dispatch; by J. F. Williams 304-307 
2 — Remarks at a meeting of the Society; by Hon. fi. H. 

Sibley 307-4J10 

3 — Remarks at a meeting of the Society; by Gen. John B. 

Sanborn 310-312 

4 — Letter to John Mattocks, Esq., of Chicago; by Rt. Rev. 

John Ireland, D. D 312-313 

^ Life and Public Seryiceb op Hon. Willis A. Gobuas.. 

1 — Obituary notices compiled from various journals 314-327 

2 — Eulogy pronounced before the Ramsey Co. Bar Assod- , 

y ation; by ex-Gov. C. K. Davis .• 328-332 

Lake Superior; by Hon. James H. Baker 333-355 

^ Memorial Notices of Rev. Gideon H. Pond 

1— Note; by the Committee on Publication 356-357 

2— Sketch ; by Rev. S. R. Riggs, D. D 358-364 

3--Tribute; by Gen. H. H. Sibley 364-366 

4— Memoir; by Rev. T. S. Williamson 367-371 

A In Memory of Kev. Thomas S. Williamson, M. D 

1— Sketch; by Rev. S. R. Riggs, D. D 372-373 

2— Memoir; by his son, A. W. Williamson 384-385 

^ The Inkpaduta Massacre of 1857; by Hon. Chas. £. Flandrau. . . . 386-407 
Indextovol.3 408 



-^ -•^ ^^4i 






RELATION OF M. PENICAUT. 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

BT« REY. KBWAJID D. OTOLL. 

A ftieDd of the navigator Humphrey Qilbbrt, a man of sanguine 
expectations, three centuries ago, remarked that he hoped to live to see 
the day when a letter mailed in London on the first of May, would reach 
China by midsummer, and that the Indians had asserted that a short 
and speedy route would be found between the 48d and 46th degrees of 
north latitude.^ 

The coming event cast its shadow before, and year after year, ex- 
plorerSy propelled in fhiil canoes by hardy voyageurs, pushed up the 
rivers that ran into the Atlantic, and at last reached the shores of the 
great Mediterranean sea of North America, Lake Superior. 

It is appropriate that the Minnesota Historical Society should 
gather every document that will throw light on the slow but sure pro- 
gress of discovery west of Lake Superior toward the Pacific coast. 
Too little notice has been given to the Frenchmen, who in 1669 visi- 
ted the Sioux of Mille Lacs. The name ofoneof whom, Grosbllibr, 
was retained for many years on the maps as the desiguation of a stream 
that fiows into Lake Superior, and is a part of the northern boundary of 
Minnesota.* Learning the inland route to Hudson's Bay, Grosellibr 
and his companion Repisson returned to Quebec in the summer of 
1660, and urged upon the French to open trade with the center 
of the continent, but the offer not being embraced, they ten- 
dered their services to the English, and piloted a New England 
Captain named Gillam to the River Nemlscan, where Fort Rupert was 
built. 

1. Col. State Papers. East India. liOndon 1862, p. 86. 

2. On a map of Canada by Jefferys, published in 1762, a part of which la 
found at page 800, History of Minnesota, Pigeon River Is marked 
Nalouagan, or GroslUer River. 



2 MINKBSOTi. HISTOBICAL COLLSCTIOK8. 

On the tnt of September, 1678, Davibl Gbbtsolok DuLuth left 
Quebec to continue discoyery In the region west of Lake Superior, 
and In 1680, met an expedition aacendlng the Mississippi, consisting 
of SiKUR Dacan and four Frenchmen, besides HenioepiNi a Franciscan 
priest, that had been dispatched by LaSallb.^ 

When DuLuTH left Minnesota, and returned to Quebec, by way of 
the Wisconsin River, a Sioux chief drew on birch bark a map of the 
Mississippi. Bbllin says the earliest map of the region west of 
Lake Superior, in the Depot de la Marine, was drawn by Otchaoa, an 
Indian. 

Perrot, *' habitant du Canada," who had been. In childhood, edu- 
cated by the Jesuit missionaries, next appears as an explorer, building 
Fort St. Nicholas at the mouth of the Wisconsin, and another on the 
west side of the Mississippi Just below Lake Pepin. 

In 1687 the first map of thevregion west and north of Lake Supe- 
rior, was drawn by Fbaxqublin, an experienced topographer, sent 
out for the purpose,* and In 1688 a map prepared at Paris by Tillemok 
was issued, and upon it appears Lake Buade (Mllle Lacs,) Magdeline 
est. Croix River) t^nd Prophet (Snake River.)' 

LeSueur, who had come into the country in 1688, with Perrot, 
built a fbrt in 1695 above Lake Pepin, on Isle Pelee, a few miles ttom 
the mouth of the St. Croix River. 

After visiting France, he accompanied Bienville, with the colony 
for the settlement of Louisiana, and in 1700 ascended the Mississippi, 
arriving at the mouth of the Minnesota on the 19th of September, 
and following the course of the stream reached the Blue Earth river, 
and on the 14th of October had completed a stockade on a small creek 
called St. Remi, in 44 deg. 18 min. north latitude. 

Among those who accompanied him was a shipvrright named 
Penicaud, a man of discernment, but little scholarship. Returning 
Arom the valley of the Minnesota, he passed many years among the 
tribes of the lower Mississippi. In 1721, leaving a wife in Louisiana, 
he visited France to receive medical attention for diseased eyes, and 
while there his adventures among the Choctaws, Natchez and other 
tribes were written out. Charlevoix In his list of authorities used 
in writing the History of New France, mentions the manuscript and 
says that though the style is poor, it contained interesting information. 
Early in 1869, the attention of Mr. Spofford, Librarian of Con- 
gress, was called' to the flict that Maissoneuvb & Co. of Paris, offered 
a manuscript ''Relation of Penicaud'* for sale, and during the summer 
he procured the same. It is a small quarto of 462 pages, divided Into 
28 chapters, with convenient sub-sections, and relates to the period 

1. Relation de la Louiaiane, Vol. 5, Becaeil de Voyages an Nord. 

2. Bellini's " Remarqaes stir la oarte de la Ameriqae Septentrionale." 
S. A copy of thlB Hap is in the New York State Libraxy. 



RELATION OF PKNICACT. 3 

firom 1696 to 1721. It appears to hare been copied or written ont by 
one Fraitcis Boust, and that part which pertains to Minnesota is 
not as lUl or accurate as Lk8usub*s description of the same region 
in La Harpe's Louisiana. Indeed, some of the statements are at 
▼ariance with LkSusur, and appear to be based on Hrnnbpim's de- 
scription. 

« Hennepin, in his '* Lonisiane,** published in 1668 at Paris, speaking 
of the Saint Croix River, says it is called Tomb River, because the 
Issati deposited on its banks the remains of a warrior who had died 
Arom the poison of a snake. Pbnicaud states that it was called the 
Saint Croix because of a cross planted over the remains of a voyageur, 
while LbSueur, the leader of the expedition, asserts that the river 
was named Saint Croix because a Frenchman of that name was 
shipwrecked at its mouth. 

Again. LbSueur, according to his Journal, did not ascend above 
the mouth of the Minnesota, and does not mention the Falls of St. 
Anthony ; while Pbnicaud, who was of the same party, says he visi- 
ted them and found the " chute" sixty feet. Hennepin had stated 
that the fall was forty or fifty feet, divided by a pyramidical rock, in 
1688 ; but if the manuscript is correct, in 1700 it was ten f^et higher. 

Charleville, a Canadian and kinsman of Governor Bienville, 
told DuPratz that he had visited the Falls with two Frenchmen and 
two Indians, and found the river flowing over a flat rock, and that the 
chute was only eight or ten feet, a more moderate and reliable state- 
ment. He also made a portage, and in a birch bark canoe ascended 
one hundred leagues beyond, and flrom information obtained from the 
Sioux, expressed the opinion that St. Anthony was about equi-distant 
Arom the sources and the mouth of the Mississippi.' 

But notwithstanding these seeming discrepancies, Pbnicaud is 
generally accurate. He states, for instance, that in leaving Minne- 
sota early in 1702, he met at the '* Ouissconsin,'* Jusserat, a Lieu- 
tenant from Montreal, with a party on bis way to the Ouabachej as the 
Ohio was called, to establish a tannery, and Charlevoix* states that 
JucHEREAU opened an establishment at that locality. 

After LbSueur and Pbnicaud left the country, explorations ceased 
for some years, but in September, 1727, LaPbrrierb du Boucher 
landed on the shore of Lake Pepin, opposite Maiden's Rock, and 
erected Fort Beauhamois. The next year Vbrandbrik began his 
discoveries, and in 1784 reached Lake Bourbon, now Winnipeg. His 
son accompanied him in his explorations. 

In 1750, Leoardbur db St. Pierre,^ who had been in command at 
Fort Beauhamois, was deputed to visit the region to the northwest 
opened up by the Veranduribs, and conclude treaties of peace and 

1. Le Page DuPrats. HJstolre de la Lonisiane, Vol. 1, pp. 142-8. 

2. Nonvelle France, VoL 2, p. 2M. 



4 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

commerce. The fort built by Vbranderib on the Bed River was 
afterwards abandoned because of its nearness to those on the chain 
of lakes between Winnipeg and Superior.^ Following the sugges- 
tions of the Frenchmen, Carver proposed to open a northern 
route to the Pacific through Minnesota, the ralley of the Upper Mis- 
souri, over the slope of the Rocky Mountains, and then through the 
valley of a river which he called the Oregon. A century has elapsed 
since this Captain of Provincial troops, a native of Connecticut, was in 
Minnesota, and now the Northern Pacific Railway will soon follow the 
trail of the voyageur over the grazing grounds of the bulfalo, into the 
defiles of the mountains, and beyond, to Puget*s Sound. Whatever 
the development of the fbture, the pioneers Grosbllebr, BuLuth, 
LbSueur, Penicaud, and the Veranderirs should never be forgot- 
ten. Towns already bear the name of BuLuth and LeSubur, and 
how appropriate would Verandbrib be for the railway crossing at 
Red River, or some place In 'that vicinity. 



TRANSLATION OF THE MS. 



BY A. J. HILL. 

LeavlDg the fort of the Mississippi,' M. de Bienyills made 
us row night and day, and the day after met the vessels, where 
he consalted with M. de Surgeres apon the provisions remain- 
ing in them, and found that there was more than enough, for 
three months. He then went to the fort at Biloxi to examine 
the goods and munitions of war in the magazines, and he in- 
creased the garrison by sixty Canadians, whom he added to the 
six hundred of us already there — he had brought them on his 
ship with M. le Sueur. After having embraced M. de Sauvolle 
and M. de Boisbriant, he left in the month of April of this 
year, 1700, on his second return to France. On his departure 

L In 1758, he was stationed in Brie Go., Pa., and held an interview with 

young Washington. 
S. BeUin also speaks of an abandoned fort near the portage between the 

St. Croix and Bois Brule' riyers. 
8. A post just established by him and situated eight leagues below 

English Bend. 



RBLATION OF PBNICAUT. 5 

he reoommended M. de Sauvolls to give M. lb Suedb twenty 
men to go with him to a copper mine in the country of the 
Sionx, a nation of wandering savages living more than nine 
hundred leagues above the mouth of the Mississippi ; and to 
ascend the river to the Falls of St. Anthony. M. le Sueur 
had heard of this mine some years before whilst traveling in 
the country of the loways, where he traded. I was ordered 
by M. DB Sauvolle to go on this expedition which M. lb Sueur 
was going to make, because of my being a carpenter by trade, 
in the service of His Majesty, andnecessary to make and repair 
shallops. I have always been with all the parties that I have 
spoken of, and shall speak of afterwards, and thus have been 
an eye witness. To return to M. lb Sueur. After he had got 
tc^ether all the necessary provisions and tools and had taken 
leave of M. de Sauvollb, he set out in the month of April of 
this year with a single shallop, in which we were but twenty- 
five persons. ♦♦♦♦♦♦ 
« •••••• 

Up to this time no one has discovered the source of the Mis- 
souri, any more than that of the Mississippi. * ' * 

• « • « • « « 

Opposite the mouth of the Wisconsin there are four islands 
in the Mississippi, and a very high mountain on the left, half 
a league long. One can go up this river to the portage of the 
Bay of the Foxes, sixty leagues distant from the Mississippi. 
This bay' comes within four leagues of Lake Michigan, and is 
the way that the French pass in going to Canada when they 
return from the Sioux. Above the mouth of the Wisconsin, 
and ten leagues higher up on the same side, begins a great 
prairie extending for sixty leagues along the bank of the Mis- 
sissippi on the right — ^this prairie is called Winged Prairie. 
The fhrther ends of these prairies reach to the mountains, 
making a very fine prospect. Opposite to the Winged Prairie 
on the left there is another prairie facing it called PaquUanet^ ^ 
which is not so long by a greiit deal. Twenty leagues above 
these prairies is found lake Good Help, which is seven leagues 

1. OBZOZVAXi. Cette baye b 'approohe de quatre lleaes da lao de Michigan. 

2. The meaning of this word is not apparent. In Marquette's narrative 
the Missouri has a similar name, Pekltanoul or Pekltanoni. H. 



6 MINinSSOTA HISTORICAL OOLLBOnONS. 

long and one across, and through which the Mississippi passes. 
To the right and left of its shores there are also prairies. In 
that on the right, on the bank of the lake, there is a fort which 
was built by Nicholas Perrot, whose name it yet bears. At 
the end of the lake you come to Bald Island, so called because 
.there are no trees on it. It is on this island that the French 
from Canada established their fort and store house when they 
come to trade for furs and other merchandise, and they also 
winter here because game is very abundant in the prairies on 
both shores of the river. In the month of September they 
bring their store of meat there, procured by hunting, and after 
having skinned and cleaned it, place it upon a sort of raised 
scaffold near the cabin, in order that the extreme cold which 
lasts from the month of September to the end of March, may 
hinder it from corrupting during the winter, which is very 
severe in that country. During the whole winter they do not 
go out except for water, when they have to break the ice every 
day, and the cabin is generally built on the bank, so as not to 
have to go far. When spring arrives the savages come to the 
island, bringing their merchandise, which consists of all kinds of 
furs, as beaver, otter, marten, lynx and many others — the bear 
skins are generally used to cover the canoes of the savages and 
Canadians. There are often savages who pillage the French 
Canadian traders, among others the savages of a village com- 
posed of the five different nations, and which have each their 
own name, that is the Sioux, the people of the big village, the 
MerUentoTis, the Mericotui/XLntonSj the Ouyatespony^ and other 
Sioux of the plains. 

Three leagues higher up, after leaving this island, you meet 
on the right the river St. Croix, where there is a cross set at 
its mouth. Ten leagues frirther you come to the Falls of St. 
Anthony, which can be heard two leagues off. It is the entire 
Mississippi falling suddenly from a height of sixty feet, making 
a noise like that of thunder rolling in the air. Here one has 
to carry the canoes and shallops, and raise them by hand to the 
upper level in order to continue the route by the river. This 
we did not do, bu^ having for some time looked at this fall of 
the whole Mississippi, we returned two leagues below the Falls 
of St. Anthony to a river coining in on the left of the Missis- 



BBLATIOK OF PSMIOAUT. 7 

sippi, which is called the river St. Peter. We took our route 
by its moath and ascended it forty leagues, where we found 
another river on the left falling into the St. Peter, which we 
entered. We called this Green River, because it is of that 
color b}' reason of a green earth which, loosening itself from 
the copper mines, becomes dissolved in it and makes it green. 
A league up this river we found a point of land a qjiarter of a 
league distant from the woods, and it was upon this point that 
M. LE SuBUR resolved to build his fort, because we could not 
go any higher on account of the ice, it being the last day of 
September, when winter, which is very severe in that country, 
has already begun. Half of our people went hunting, whilst 
the others worked on the fort. We killed four hundred 
buffaloes, which were our provisions for the winter, and which 
we placed upon scaffolds in our fort, after having skinned and 
cleaned and then quartered them. We also made cabins in the 
fort, and a magazine to keep our goods. After having drawn 
up our shallop within the inclosure of the fort, we spent the 
winter in our cabins. 

When we were working on our fort, in the beginning, seven 
French traders of Canada took refuge there. They had been 
pillaged and stripped naked by the Sioux, a wandering nation ^ 
living only by hunting and rapine. Amongst these seven 
persons there was a Canadian gentleman of M. le Sueur's 
acquaintance, whom he recognized at once and gave him some 
clothes, as he did also to all the rest, and whatever else was 
necessary for them. They remained with us during the entire 
winter at. our fort, where we had not food enough for all, except 
the flesh of our buffaloes, which we had not even salt to eat 
with. We had a good deal of trouble the first two weeks in 
getting used to it, having diarrhoea and fever, and being so 
tured of it that we hated the very smell. But little by little 
our bodies got adapted to it, so well that at the end of six 
weeks there was not one of us that could not eat six pounds of 
meat a day and drink four bowls of the broth. As soon as we 
were accustomed to this kind of living it made us very fat, and 
there was then no more sickness amongst us. 

When spring arrived we went to work on the copper mine. 
This was in the beginning of April of this year, [1701.] We 



8 MlNinBSOTA marORICAL COLLSCnONS. 

took with VLB twelve laborers and four hunters. This mine was 
sitaated aboat three Quarters of a league from our post. We 
took from the mine in twenty-two days more than thirty thou- 
sand pounds weight of ore, of which we only selected four 
thousand pounds of the finest, which M. le Soeur, who was a 
very good judge of it, had carried to the fort, and which has 
since been«sent to France, though I have not learned the result. 

This mine is situated at the • beginning of a very long 
mountain which is upon the bank of the river, so that boats 
can go right to the mouth of the mine itself. At this place is 
the green earth, which is a foot and a half in thickness, and 
above it is a layer of earth as firm and hard as stone, and 
black and burnt like coal by the exhalation from the mine. 
The copper is scratched out with a knife. There are no trees 
upon this mountain. If this mine is good it will make a great 
trade, because the mountain contains more than ten leagues 
running of the same ground. It appears, according to our 
observations, that in the very finest weather there is continu- 
ally a fog upon this mountain. 

After twenty-two days' work we returned to our fort, where 
the Sioux, who belong to the nation of savages who pillaged 
the Canadians that came there, brought us merchandises 
of fhrs. They had more than four hundred beaver robes, each 
robe being made of nine skins sewed together. M. le Sueur 
purchased these and many other skins which he bargained for 
in the week he traded- with the savages. He made them all 
come and camp near the fort, which they consented to very 
unwillingly ; for this nation, which is very numerous, is always 
wandering, living only by hunting, and when they have stayed 
a few days in one place they have to go off more than ten 
leagues from it for game for their support. They have, 
however, a dwelling place, where they gather together the 
natural fruits of the country, which are very different from 
those of the lower Mississippi, as for instance cherries which 
are in clusters like our grapes of France, cranberries which are 
similar to our strawberries but larger and somewhat square in 
shape, nuts, chokeberries,^ roots* which resemble our truffles, 

1. The €U4ae, 2. Tnupin amboun in the originBl. 



RELAnON OF PENICAUT. 9 

dbc. There are also more kinds of trees than on the lower part of 
the river, as the birch,^ maple, plane, and cottonwood, which last 
is a tree that grows so thick that there are some that are fifteen 
feet round. As to the trees called maple and plane it is usual at 
the^beginning of March to make notches in them, and then 
placing tubes in the notches cause the liquid to lun off into a 
vessel placed below to receive it. These trees will flow in 
abundance during three months, ftom the beginning of March to 
the end of May. The juice they yield is very sweet ; it is 
boiled till it turns to syrup, and if it is boiled still more it be* 
comes brown sugar. 

The cold is still severer in these countries than it is in 
Canada. During the winter we passed in our fort we heard 
the trees exploding like musket shots, being cracked by the 
rigor of the cold. The ice is as thick as there is water in the 
river, and the snow is condensed in it. By the month of April 
all this snow and ice lies on the ground to the depth of five 
feet, which causes the overfiowing of the Mississippi in the 
spring. 

About the beginning of winter in this country, that is to say 
in the month of September, the bears climb trees that are 
hollow and hide themselves inside, where they remain from six 
to seven months without ever leaving, getting no other nour- 
ishment'during the winter than by licking their paws. When 
they enter they are extremely lean, and when they go out they 
are so plump that they have half a foot of fat on them. It is 
almost always in the cottonwood or cypress that the bear hides 
himself, because these trees are generally hollow. In hunting 
them a tree is placed leaning against the tree where the bear 
is and reaching up to the hole by which he entered. The 
hunter climbs by this leaning tree to the other one, and throws 
into the hollow some pieces of dry wood all on fire, which 
obliges the animal to come out to save himself from being 
burned. When the bear leaves the hole of the tree he comes 
down backwards, as a man would do, and then they shoot him. 
This hunting is very dangerous, for though the animal may be 
wounded sometimes by three or four gun shots, he will still fall 

1. The flMrM«r. 



10 MINNESOTA HISrORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

upon the first persons he meets, and with a single blow of his 
teeth and claws will tear you up in a moment. There are some 
as large as carriage horses, so strong that they can easUy 
break a tree as thick as one's thigh. The nation of the Sioux 
hunt them very much, using them for food and trading their 
skins with the French Canadians. We sell in return wures 
which come very dear to the buyers, especially tobacco from 
Brazil in the proportion of a hundred crowns the pound ; two 
little horn-handled knives or four leaden bullets are equal to 
ten crowns in exchange for their merchandises of skins, and so 
with the rest. 

In the beginning of May we launched our shallop in the 
water and loaded it with this green earth that had been taken 
out of the mines and with the furs we had traded for, of which we 
brought away three canoes fUIl. M. le Sueur, before going, 
held council with M. d' Eraque, the Canadian gentleman, and 
the three great chiefs of the Sioux, three brothers, and told them 
that as he had to return to the sea he desired them to live in 
peace with M. d' Ekaque, whom he left in command of Fort 
U Huillier, with twelve Frenchmen. M. le Sueur made a con- 
siderable present to the three brothers, chiefs of the savages, 
desiring them never to abandon the French. After this we, 
the twelve men whom he had chosen to go down to the sea 
with him, embarked. In setting out M. le Sueur promised to 
M. d' Eraque and the twelve Frenchmen who remained with 
him to guard the fort, to send up munitions of war from the 
Illinois country as soon as he should arrive there ; which he 
did, for on getting there he sent off to him a canoe loaded with 
two thousand pounds of lead and powder, ivith three of our 

people in charge of it. * ♦ * * 

* » * « « « « 

In this same time^ M. d' Iberville had sent a boat laden 
with munitions of war and provisions, to M. de St. Denis, 
commanding the fort on the bank of the Mississippi. They 
found there M. d' Eraque, who had arrived with the twelve 
Frenchmen, who remained with him at fort L' Huillier. He 
came shortly after in the same boat to Mobile, where 

1. Spring of 1702. 



RBLATIOM OF PENICAllT. 11 

• 

M. d' Iberyillb was, whom he saluted, and reported to him that 
M. LE Sueur having left him at the fort U Haillier, had promised 
him, in parting, to send him from the Illinois country, ammu- 
nition and provisions, and that having looked for them a long 
time without hearing any news of them, he had been attacked 
by the nations of the Maskoutins and Foxes, who had killed 
three of our Frenchmen whilst they were working in the woods 
but two gun shots beyond the fort ; that when the savages had 
retreated he had been obliged, after having concealed the 
merchandises he had remaining, and seeing that he was out of 
powder and lead, to abandon the fort and descend with his 
people to the sea; that at the Wisconsin he had met M. 
JucHEREAU, criminal judge of Montreal, in Canada, with 
thirty-five men, whom he had brought with him to establish a 
tannery at the Wabash ; that he had descended with him to the 
Illinois where he had found the canoe M. de Bienville sent 
him ; that he had arrived in this canoe at the post of M. de St. 
Denis the night before the boat arrived there ; and that having 
learned from M. de St. Denis of the arrival of M. d' Ibervillb 
he had taken advantage of that opportunity to pay his respects 
to him, and offer him at the same time his services. 



NOTE TO THE FOREGOING. 

Explorers and scientiflc men have searched for Lb Suburbs alleged 
<* copper mine'* without saccess, and pronoance it mythical. See 
Nicollet, p. 18; Kbatino, Yol. I, p. 855; Fkathbrstonhauoh, 
Vol. I, pp. 2 ; 801-805. The account of the latter Is so pertinent, we 
give it, somewhat abridged : 

Skpt. 22. [1885.] &oon after 8 a. m. we came to the month of the 
Mahkatoh, or ** Blue Earth Klver." This was a bold stream, about 80 
yards wide, loaded with mud of a bluish color, evidently the cauHe 
of the St. Peter's being so turbid. It was not far fkrom the mouth of 
this river that M. Lr Sueur was asserted to have discovered in 1692 
an immense deposit of copper ore. No traveller had ever sutered the 
river to investigate his statement ; I therefore directed the head of 
the canoe to be tnrned into the stream. Having ascended it about a 
mile, we found a Slssiton family established with their skin lodge 



12 lOMKKSOTA H18TOBICAL OOLLBCnON8. 

upon a sand bar. * * These people constantly asserted that they 
knew of no remains of any old fort or stone building in that part of 
the conntry. * * * Whilst we were negotiating this exchange, 
it began to snow for the first time this antnmn. * * Pushing on, 
we passed a singular conical grassy hill on the right bank, which 
commanded all the vicinity, and appeared to be a likely situation for 
the site of Lb Subub's Fort. * * About 12, we came to a fork or 
branch coming in on our right, about 46 yards broad, and we turned 
into it, having a well-wooded bluff on the right bank, about 90 feet 
high. We had not proceeded three-quarters of a mile when we 
reached the place which the Sissitons had described to us as being 
that to which the Indians resorted tqr their pigment. This was a 
bluff about 160 feet high, on the left bank, and from the slope being 
much trodden and worn away, I saw at once that it was a locality 
which for some purpose or other had been frequented from a 
very remote period. We accordingly stopped there, whilst I examined 
the place. 

As soon as I had reached that part of the bluff whence the pigment 
had been takeu, Lb Subub's story lost all credit with me, for I 
instantly saw that it was nothing but a continuation of the seam 
which divided the sandstone flrom the limestone, and which I have 
before spoken of at the Myah Skah, as containing a silicate of iron 
of a bluish-green colour. The concurrent account of all the Indians 
we had spoken with, that this was the place the aborigines had always 
resorted to, to procure their pigment, and the total silence of every- 
body since Lb Subur*s visit respecting any deposit of copper ore, in 
this or any other part of the country, convinced me that the story 
of his copper mines was a ftibulous one, most probably invented to 
raise himself in importance with the French government of that day. 
Charlevoix having stated that the mine was only a league and three- 
quarters firom the mouth of the Terre Bleu, made It certain that I 
was now at that locality, and the seam of coloured earth gave the key 
to the rest. Lb Subub's account of the mine being at the foot of a 
mountain ten leagues long, was as idle as the assertion that he had 
obtained 80,000 lbs. of copper ore in 22 days, for there is nothing like 
a mountain in the neighborhood. The bluff, to be sure, rises to the 
height of 150 feet firom the river; but when you have ascended It, 
you find yourself at the top of a level prairie. * * * Finding the 
copper mine to be a fable, I turned my attention—" &c., &c.— W. 



BIBLI06RAPHT OF MINNESOTA. 



PRKPABBD BT TAB UBRARIAN OF THK SOCXBTT. 

NOTE. 

While I have veDtnrtHl to call this article a ** Bibliography of Min* 
neiota," its pecaliar arrangement, departing as it does, somewhat 
from the Qsaal rales of Bibliography, may weaken its claim to that 
title. It is little more, in reality, than a transcript of the Catalogue 
of that portion of the Library ot the Minnesota Historical Society, 
which relates to this State. The collection of works and publications 
on that subject now in possession of the Society, is so nearly com- 
plete, that it contains almost every work which can be said to strictly 
belong to a Bibliography of Minnesota, in addition to a large 
iiumber^(not, however, included in this paper)— which have such 
intimate relations to the subject, they might reasonably have been 
embraced in it, had not the list threatened to consume too much space. 

I have arranged the titles by subjects, believing that this plan will 
best frhow at a glance what has been printed in any one class or 
division ; while numerous cross-references, and an index of authors, 
will, I trust, remedy any defects which that plan may have. It will 
be remarked, also, that all works are arranged chronologically. 

This lA the first attempt to collect and publish a list of works rela- 
ting to Minnesota. It will be a matter of surprise to many, even of 
our own citizens, that so much has been printed — here and else- 
where—relating to a State organized as a separate commonwealth 
only twenty-one years ago ; and it is sent forth in the hope that it 
may prove some aid to Librarians and Bibliographers in other States, 
no less than to our own citizens. J. F- W. 



EABLT BXPLOBATIONS AND TBAVBLS, 
Made prior to the oivanimtion of Minn6K>ta as a Terrltorj In IStt. 

yoTAO£ ou NOUYSLLK DBCOUYXBTB d' lui Tres Grand Pays 
dans V Amerique, entre lenoavean Mezique et lamer glaciale, 



14 MINKSSOTA HISTORICAL GOLLSCTIOH8. 

par le B. F. Louifl Hennepin ; Avec toutes lea particularitec 
de ce Pais, & de celui conna sous le nom de LA LOUISIANE ; 
lea avantages qui on en peut tirer par 1' establissement des 
Colonies enrichie de Cartes Geographiques. Augmente de 
qaelques figures en taille douce. Avec un voyage qui contient 
une Relation exacte de V Origine, Moeurs, Coustumes, Religion, 
Guerres & Voyages des Caraibes, Saurages des Isles Antilles 
de L' Amebiqdb, Faite par le Sieur De La Borde, Tiree du 
Cabinet de Monsr. Blonde!, Amsterdam. Chez Adriaan 
Braakman, Marchand Libraire pres le Dam, 1704, 16^ : pp. 
zzxiv, 604, [2 maps, 6 engravings.] 

MxMOiBE suR LES M(EUBS, Coustumcs ct Relligiou des Sauva- 
ges de L' Amerique Septentrionale, par Nicolas Perrot ; Publie 
pour la Premiere fois par le R. P. J. Tailhan, de la Compagnie 
de Jesus. Leipzig & Paris, Librairie A. Franck. Albert L. 
Herold, 1864, 12° : pp. vm, 341, xlui. 

[Bee Collections of Minn. HUtor. Soo., Fg. 22.] 

New Voyages to North America, giving a ftill account of the 
Customs, Commerce, Religion, and Strange Opinions of the 
Savages of that Country, with Political Remarks upon the 
Courts of Portugal and Denmark^ and the present State of the 
Commerce of those Countries. The Second Edition, Written 
by the Baron Lahontan, Lord*Lieutenant of the French Colony 
at Placentia in Newfoundland; Now in England. London: 
Printed for J. Walthoe, J. and J. Bonwicke, J. Osbom, S. Birt, 
T. Ward, and E. Wicksteed, 1735. Two vols., 12^ Vol. I, 
pp. XXIV, 280. [2 maps ; 4 plates.] Vol. II, pp. 302. [8 
maps ; 9 plates.] 

The Discovert of the Great West ; by Francis Parkman. 
Boston : Little, Brown & Co., 1869, 8*» : pp. 425. 

fThli work covers the period Arom 1618 to 1689.] 

Historical Collections of Louisiana and Florida, inclu- 
ding Translations of original manuscripts relating to their 
Discovery and Settlement, with numerous Historical and 
Biographical Notes. By B. F. French. New Series. New 
York : J. Sabin & Sons, 84 Nassau street, 1869, S"* : pp. 862. 

The History of Louisiana, or of the Western Parts of 
Virginia and Carolina: Containing a Description of the 



BIBLIOOBAPUT. 15 

Ck>imtries that lye on both Sides of the Biyer Mississippi : With 
an Account of the Settlements, Inhabitants, Soil, Climate and 
Products. Translated from the French, (lately published) by 
M. Le Page Du Pratz ; with some Notes and Observations re- 
lating to our Ck>lonies. In Two Volumes. London : xdcc,- 
Lxra, 16«». Vol. I, pp. VI, 368 ; [map.] Vol. n : pp. vi, 272 
[map.] 

HiSTOKiCAL CoLLEcnoNS OF LOUISIANA, embracing Transla- 
tions of many rare and valuable Documents relating to the 
Natural, Ciyil and Political History of that State, etc. Part 
IV. Redfield, New York : 1852. 8'' pp. 268. [Map.] 

[Entitled "Discovery and Ezplorationi ot the Miululppl;" contains 
Original Narratives of Marqnette, AUoaes, Membre, Hennepin and Doaay.] 

Eaklt Votaoes up akd Down the Mississippi. By Cava- 
lier, St. Cosme, LeSueur, Gravier and Guignas. With an 
introduction and Notes. [By John G. Shea.] Albany : 1861, 
4°: pp.191. 

HiSTonuB ET Description Gekerale de la Nocvellb 
Feancb, avec le Journal Historique d' un Voyage fait par ordre 
da Roi dansX' Amerique Septentrionnale. Par le P. De Charle- 
voix de la Compagnie de Jesus, a Paris, h. doc. xuv. Avec 
Approbation et Privilege du Roi. Three Volumes, 4^ : pp. xxvi, 
664 ; XVI, 582 and 56 ; xrv, 543. 

Travels through the Interior Parts of North America 
in the years 1766, 1767 and 1768. By J. Carver, Esq., Captain 
of a Company of Provincial Troops during the late War with 
France. Illustrated with copper plates, coloured. The third 
edition. To which is added, some account of the Author and 
a Copious Index. London : hdcclxxxi. 8^ pp. 564. [2 
maps, 5 engravings.] 

— - Do. Another edition, published by Isaiah Thomas A 
Co., WalpcHe, N. H., 1813 ; 16*> : pp. 280. 

Do. Another edition, entitled ** Carver's Travels in 

Wisconsin." New York : Printed by Harper & Brothers, No. 
82, Cliff Street, 1838 ; .8'' : pp. 876, [2 maps, 5 engravings.] 

Carver Cemtehart : [See '^ Collections of the Historical 
Society."] 



I 

/ 



16 HINKE80TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Y ExPLORATOBT Tkavsls through the Western Territories of 
North America : Comprising a voyage from Saint Lonis, on the 
Mississippi, to the source of that river, and a Jonmey throngh 
the interior of Loaisiana, and the northeastern Provinces of 
New Spain. Performed in the years 1805, 1806, 1807, by 
order of the Grovemment of the United States. By Zebnlon 
Montgomery Pike. London : 1811, 49 ; pp. 486, [2 maps.] 

Narrative Journal op Travels from Detroit northwest 
throngh the Great Cludn of American Lakes to the sources of 
the Mississippi River, in the year 1820. By Henry B. School- 
craft. Albany : Published by £. & £. Hosford, 1821, 8^ : pp. 
424. [Map, 7 illustrations.] 

m 

V Nabrative of an ExpEDinoN to the source of St. Peter's 
River, Lake Winnipeek, Lake of the Woods, Ac. Performed 
in the Year 1823, by order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secre- 
tary of War, under the Command of Stephen H. Long, U. S. 
T. £. Compiled from the notes of Major Long, Messrs. Say, 
Keating & Colhoun, by William H. Keating, A. M. &c.. Pro- 
fessor of Mineralogy and Chemistry as applied to the Arts, in 
the University of Pennsylvania ; Geologist and I^istoriographer 
to the Expedition. In two Volumes. London : Printed by 
Geo. B. Whittaker, Ave Maria Lane, 1825, 8*. Vol. 1, Pp. xvi, 
458. [4 illustrations and map.] Vol. 2, Pp. vi, 404. [3 illustra- 
tions.] 

La Decouvebtb des Sources du Mississippi et de la Riviere 
Sanglante. Description du Cours entier du Mississippi, Qui 
n'etait connu, que partiellement, et d'une grand partie de 
celui de la Riviere Sanglante, presque entierement inconnue ; 
ainsi que du Cours entier de I'Ohio, Ac, &c. Coup d'oeil, 
sur les compagnies nord-ouest, et de la bale d' Hudson, ainsi 
que sur la Colonic Selkirk. P^uves Evidentes, que le Missis- 
sippi est la premiere Riviere du Monde. Par J. C. Beltrami, 
Membre de plusieurs Academies. Nouvelle-Orleans : Imprime 
par BenJ. Levy, No. 86, Rue Royale, 1824. 8'' : pp. vn, 328. 

A PlLORDCAOE IK Europe and America, leading to the 
Discovery of the Sources of the Mississippi and Bloody River ; 
with a description of the whole course of the former, and of 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 17 

the Ohio. By J. C. Beltrami, Esq., formerly Judge of a Boyal 
Court in the Ex-Kingdom of Italy. In two Yolnmes. London : 
Printed for Hunt and Clarke, York Street, Covent Garden. 
1828. 8^. Vol. I, Pp. Lxxvi. 472. [2 maps, 1 engraving.] 
Vol. n, Pp. 546. [1 map, 8 engravings.] 

A Narrative of the Caftivitt and Advemtures of John 
Tanner (U. S. Interpreter at the Sault de Ste. Marie,) during 
Thirty Years' Residence among the Indians in the Interior of 
North America. Prepared for the Press by Edwin James, M. 
D., Editor of an account of Major Long's Expedition fh>m 
Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountains. New York : G. & C. AH. 
Carvill, 108 Broadway. 1830. 8**: pp. 426. [Portrait of 
Tanner and numerous wood cuts.] 

[Tanner spent a nnmber of yean, daring blc captivity, in Minnesota, and 
■ome of his deeoendants yet live in the State.] 

Nabrattvb of an ExpEDinoN through the Upper Mississippi 
to Itasca Lake, the actual source of this River ; embracing an 
exploratory trip through the Saint Croix and Burntwood (or 
Broule) Rivers ; in 1832. Under the direction of Henry R. 
Schoolcraft. New York : Published by Harper A Brothers, 
Ko. 82 Cliff Street. 1834. 8*" : pages 307. [3 maps.] 

SuHlfABT NaBRATIVS OF AN EXFLORATOBT EXFEDRION tO 

the -Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820, resumed and 
completed by the Discovery of its origin in Itasca Lake, in 
1832. B}' authority of the United States. With appendixes, 
&c., together with all the Official Reports and Scientific Papers 
of both Expeditions. By Henry R. Schoolcraft. Philadel- 
phia: Lippincott, Grambo A Co. 1855. 8^ : pp! 596. [Maps 
and Illustrations.] 

The Rambler in North America, mdcccxxxh — MDCOCxxxm. 
By Charles Joseph Latrobe, author of the ^^ Alpenstock,*' etc. 
In two volumes. New York : Published by Harper & Brothers, 
No. 82, Cliff Street, and* sold by the principal booksellers 
throughout the United SUtes. 1835. 12''. Vol. 1, Pp. vn, 
243. Vol. 2, Pp. 242. 

Notes on the Wisconsin Territory ; particularly with refer- 
ence to the Iowa District, or Black Hawk Pnrohase. By 
3 



18 MINKESOTA HISTORICAL COU^KCTIOMS. 

Lientenant Albert M. Lea, United States Dragoons. Phila- 
delphia: H. S. Tanner — Shakspeare Buildings. 1886. 24^: 
[with map :] pp. 53. 

A Cakoe Voyage up the MnnrAT Sotor ; with an account 
of the Lead and Copper Deposits^ in Wisconsin ; of the Gold 
Begion in the Cherokee Country ; and sketches of popular 
manners, &c., &c., Ac. By G. W. Featherstonhaugh, F. B. 
S. ; F. G. S. ; Author of '^ Excursion through the Slave States.'' 
In two Volumes. London : Bichard Bentley, New Burlington 
Street, Publisher in Ordinary to her Majesty. 1847. 8^ Vol. 
I, Pp. zr7, 416. [6 engravings and map.] Vol. 11, Pp. vn, 
351. [1 engraving.] 

Beport intended to illustrate a Map of the Hydrographical 
Basin of the Upper Mississippi Biver, made by I. N. Nicollet ; 
while in employ under the Bureau of the Corps of Topographi- 
cal Engineers. January 11, 1845. Washington: Blair A 
Bives, Printers. 1845. 8° : pp. 170. 

Personal Memoirs of a Besidence of Thirty Years with 
the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers: with brief 
notices of passing events, facts, and opinions. A. D. 1812 to 
A. D. 1842. By Henry B. Schoolcraft. Philadelphia : Lip- 
pincott, Grambo and Co., Successors to Grigg, Elliott & Co. 
1851. 8° : pp. XLVin, 703. 

[ThlB work lacks an index, which g^reatly Impairs its valncj 

I 

A Summer jk the Wilderness ; embracing a Canoe Voyage 
up the Mississippi and around Lake Superior. By Charles 
Lanman, author of ^^ Essays for Summer Hours," etc. ^^ And 
I was in the Wilderness alone." — Bryant. New York : D. 
Appleton A Company, 200 Broadway, &c. mdcocxlvu. 

12° : pp. 208. 

• 

Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsin, Iowa and 
Minnesota ; and incidentally of a portion of Nebraska Terri- 
tory. Made under instructions from the United States Treasury 
Department. By David Dale Owen, United States Geologist. 



BiBLiooEAnmr. 19 

Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Co. 1852. 4* : pp. 638. 
[72 wood cuts ; 27 steel plates ; 18 colored maps, stone and 

copper.] 

i 

\^ All the above are strlotly Minneeota books— the aathon of them having 
travelled In some portion of the State, as it now is. In addition to these, 
the student of Minnesota history should eonsolt DaPrats, Oharlevolz, the N. 
T. Colonial Documents, kc,, for incidental references to the region now 
known as IClnnesota. 



MINNESOTA: HISTOBICAL, DBSCRIPTiyB AND 

STATISTICAL. 

The Homes of the New World ; Impressions of America. 
By Frederika Bremer. Translated by Mary Howitt. " Sing 
onto the Lord a new Song." — Psalm xovi. In two volumes. 
New York : Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 829 and 881, Pearl 
street, Franklin Square. 1864. 12". Vol. I, Pp. za, 651. 
Vol. n, 654. 

[Miss Bremer visited Minnesota in 1848 ; sixty-three pages of the Sd Vol. 
are devoted to it.] 

Sketches of Minnesota, the New England of the West. 
With Incidents of Travel in that Territory during the Summer 
of 1849. In two Parts. By E. S. Seymour. With a Map. 
New York : Harper <& Brothers, Publishers, 82 Cliff street. 
1850. 12^: pp. 281. [Map.] 

[Mr. Seymour lived at Galena, and made a short trip through Minnesota in 
1819. His work is interesting and well written, and for three or four years 
was the only work desorlptiye of Minnesota accessible to the public. He is 
said to have died in 1862.] 

Bepobt of the Secretart op Wak, commnnicating the 
report of an Exploration of the Territory of Minnesota, by 
Brevet Captain Pope. March 21, 1850. 8"" : pp. 56. 

[Ex. Doc. No. 42. 81st Congress, Ist Session.] 

Pembina Settlement. Letter from the Secretary of War, 
transmitting report of Maj. Wood, relative to his Expedition 
to Pembina Settlement, and the condition of affairs on the 
North-Westem frontier of the Territory of Minnesota. March 
19, 1850. 8* : pp. 55. 

[Ex. Doc. No. 51 : Slst Oongress, Ist Session.] 



20 lONKESOtA mSTOBlOAL COLLECTIOH8. 

MiNNBaoTA Year Book: foe 1851, by W. G. Le Due. Pub- 
lished by W. Gr. Le Due, Bookseller and SUtioner, St. Paul, 
Minnesota Territory. 12^ : pp. 51. 

do, for 1852 : 12° : pp. 98 : [cut.] 

do, for 1853 : 12<> : pp. 37 : [map.] 

Minnesota and its Resources, to which are appended 
Camp-fire Sketches, or Notes of a Trip from Saint Paul to 
Pembina and Selkirk Settlement on the Red River of the 
North. By J. Wesley Bond. Redfield, 110 and 112, Nassau 
Street, New York. 1853. 12°: pp. 364. [Map, and numerous 
illustrations.] 

Do. do. Tenth ( ?) Edition. Keen & Lee, No. 148 Lake 
Street, Chicago, Illinois. Charles Desilver, No. 253, Market 
Street, Philadelphia. 1856. [Map and numerous illustra- 
tions.] Pp. 412. 

[The back Ic Utted "Minnesota as it Is."] 

SuRYET, etc., of Road fh)m Mendota to Big Sioux River. 
Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting Report of the 
Survey, &c., of road from Mendota to the Big Sioux Riven 
By Capt. J. L. Reno, U. S. A. April 28, 1854. 8° : pp. 12. 

[Ex. Doo. No. 97 : 83d Oongress, Ist Session.] 

The Minnesota Messenger, containing Sketches of the 
Rise and Progress of Minnesota ; Tables of Distances from 
Different Points ; Directions to Strangers ; and various other 
Information, invaluable to the Traveller and Business Man. 
Saint Paul, M. T. A. D. Munson, Editor and Publisher. 
1855. 8^ : pp. 78. 

Rise and Progress of Minnesota TERRrroRT, Including a 
Statement of the Business Prosperity of Saint Paul ; and In- 
formation in Regard to the Different Counties, Cities, Towns 
and Villages in the Territory, Etc. St. Paul : Published by 
C. L. Emerson, Minnesota Democrat Office, 1855. Royal 8^ : 
pp. 64. 

Minnesota and the Far West, by Laurence Oliphant, 
Esq., Late Civil Secretary and Superintendent-General of 
Indian Affairs in Canada. Author of ^^ The Russian Shores of 
the Black Sea," &c. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh 



. BXBLIOORAfHT. 21 

and London, mdccclv. 8^ : pp. xnr, 306. [Map ; 13 illus- 
trations.] 

[Originally pnbUslied in Blackwood'i Magasine.] 

The Imhiorakt's Guide to Minnesota in 1856. By an Old 
Besident. St. Anthony : W. W. Wales, Bookseller and- Pub- 
lisher. 12^ : pp. 116. [5 wood cuts.] 

The Minnesota Handbook, for 1856-7. With a new and 
accurate map. By Nathan H. Parker, author of '^ Iowa as it 
Is," &c. Boston : John P. Jewett and Company, mdcoclyii. 
120 : pp. 159. [Map.] 

Minnesota and Dacotah : In letters descriptive of a Tour n/ 
through the Northwest, in the Autumn of 1856. With In- 
formation Relative to Public Lands, and a Table of Statistics. 
By C. C. Andrews, Counsellor at Law ; Editor of the Official 
Opinions of the Attorneys General of the United States. 
Washington : Robert Farnham. 1857. 12" : pp. 215. 

Floral Home; or, First Years of Minnesota. Early 
Sketches, Later Settlements, and Further Developments. By 
Harriet E. Bishop. New York : Sheldon, Blakeman A Com- 
pany. 1857. 12'' : pp. 842. [Portrait of Author, and nu- 
merous Illustrations.] 

Minnesota: Address delivered at the Broadway House, 
New York, on the 27th March, 1857, by Ignatius Donnelly, 
Esq. New York: Folger & Turner, Printers, No. 118 John 
Street. 1857. 12^: pp. 16. 

A Guide to Emigrants to Minnesota. By a Tourist. St. 
Paul : Goodrich, Somers & Co., Printers. 1857. 12° : pp. 23. 

The Emigrant's Guide to Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. ^ 
Containing a Correct History of all the Towns on the Missis- 
sippi River and its Tributaries, from Dubuque to its Head 
Wkters. Also, all the Principal Towns in Minnesota. Pub- 
lished by J. Q. A. Ward, and M. V. B. Young, St. Paul. 
Printed at the Minnesotian Office. 1857. 24"" : pp. 184. 

The History op Minnesota : From the Earliest French 
Explorations, to the present time. By Edward Duffield Neill, 
Secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society. ^' Neo falsa 



22 HINNSSOTA HtSTORICAL COLLBCltOlCS. 

• 

dtcere, rec vera reticere.** Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott ic 
Co. 1858. 80 : pp. 628. [4 maps.] 

Do. do. Large Paper Copy ; with 86 steel engravings 

illustrating Indian Life, 8 steel portraits and 5 maps. 

Minnesota : or *' A Bundle of Facts/' going to Illustrate 
its Great Past, the Grand Present, and her Glorious Future ; 
by a Southern Pre-Emptor. [^Thomcut B. Winston,"] 5,000 
copies issued for gratuitous circulation. New Orleans : Pub- 
lished by J. B. Steel, No. 60 Camp Street. 1858. 24"* : pp. 82. 

Minnesota : Its Place among the States. Being the First 
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Statistics, for the Year 
ending Jan. 1, 1860. Published by authority of law. Hart- 
ford : Press of Case, Lockwood and Company. 1860. 8® : 
pp. 174. 

Minnesota: Its Progress and Capabilities. Being the 
Second Annual Report of the Commissioner of Statistics, for 
the Years 1860 and 1861. Saint Paul: Wm. R. Marshall, 
State Printer. 1862. 8*> : pp. 127. 

[Joseph A. Wheelook was OommiBsloner of Statistics, 1800-68.] 

Statistics of Minnesota, pertaining to its Agriculture, 
Population, Manufactures, etc., etc., for 1869. Being the 
First Annual Report of the Assistant Secretary of State 
[^Pennock Pusey'] to the Governor. Made according to law. 
Saint Paul : Press Printing Co. 1870. 8** : pp. 152: 

Emigbation, with special reference to Minnesota, U. S. and 
British Columbia. By Thomas Rawlings. London : Clayton 
A C«., Printers. 8*> : pp. 24. Map. [1864.] 

Notes upon the Geology of some portions of Minnesota, 
from St. Paul to the Western Part of the State. By James 
Hall. 1866. 4*>: pp.12. 

Geology and Minerals. A Report of Explorations in the 
Mineral Regions of Minnesota during the Years 1848, 1859 
and 1864, by Col. Charles Whittlesey. Printed by order of 
the General Assembly [of Minnesota]. Cleveland : Herald 
Office. 1866. 8**: pp. 54. 

Minnesota as a Home tob Immigbants. Being the First 



BIBUOGRAFHT. 23 

and Second Prize EBsays awarded by the Board of Examiners 
appointed Parsaant to an Act of the Legislature of the State 
of Minnesota. Approved March 4, 1864. St. Paul : Pioneer 
Printing Company. 1866. 8^ : pp. 84. 

[I. Mary J.Oolbnm. n. W.R. Smith.] 

Hand Book of Minnesota: Describing its Agricaltnral, 
Commercial and Manofacturing Resources, and other Capabili- 
ties of Producing Wealth; also, its Physical and Social 
Conditions and Its Future. By Rufhs Blanchard. Chicago : 
Blanchard A Cram. 1867. IS® : pp. 64. 

Tourists and Intalid's Guide to the Northwest. Con- 
taining Information about Minnesota, Wisconsin, Dacota, and 
the Lake Superior Region. Compiled by Charles H. Sweetser, 
New York. 1867. 8*»:pp. 60. 

Upfer Mississippi; or, Historical Sketches of the Mound 
Builders, the Indian Tribes, and the Prc^ess of Civilization 
in the Northwest ; fh>m A. D. 1600 to the Present Time. By 
George Gale. Chicago : Clarke and Company. 1867. 12^ : 
pp. 460. [ WUh portrait of AutJuyr,"] 

Minnesota: Its Advantages to Settlers. Being a brief 
Synopsis of its History and fn^ress, Climate, Soil, Agricul- 
tural and Manufacturing Facilities, and Social Status; Its 
Lakes, Rivers and Railroads; Homestead and Exemption 
Laws ; Embracing a concise Treatise on its Climatology, in a 
Hygienic and Sanitary Point of View ; Its unparalleled Salu- 
brity, Growth and Productiveness, as compared with the Older 
States, and the elements of its Future Greatness and Pros- 
perity. For Gratuitous Circulation. Order Copies to any 
Address, from Girart Hewitt, St. Paul, Minn. 1867. 8" : pp. 36. 

rrhin Is aaoally oaUad " Hewitt*B Pamphlet." 150,000 copies of this have 
been issned.] 

Toubist's Guide to the Upfer Mississim Rtver : Giving all 
the Railroad and Steamboat Routes Diverging from Chicago, 
Milwaukee & Dubuque toward Saint Paul, etc. CompUed by J. 
Distumell. New York. 1868. 12*": pp. 92. [Maps.] 

Dakota JjAjxd ; or the Beauty of Saint Paul. An Original, 
lUnstrated, Historic and Bomaatie Work, presenting a Combi* 



24 KINNESOTA HISrOBICAL COLLECnONS. 

nation of Manrellous Dreams and Wandering Fancies, 
Singular Eyents and Strange Fatalities, all interwoven with 
Graphic Descriptions of the Beautiful Scenery and Wonderfiil 
Enchantment in Minnesota. To which is added *' A Round 
of Pleasure," with interesting Notes of Travel, Maps, etc., 
and Forming a Comprehensive Guide to the Great North West. 
By Col. Hankins, Editor of '' The New York Home Gazette," 
Ac. 1868 : Hankins & Son, Publishers, New York. 12" : pp. 
460. [Illustrations and Map.] 

Address of the Minnesota Irish Emigration Convention, 
held in the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 20, 1869, to 
the People of Ireland. Saint Paul : North Western Chronicle 
Print. 1869. 8** : pp. 22. 

The Minnesota Guide. A Hand Book of Information for 
the Traveller, Pleasure Seekers & Immigrants, concerning all 
Routes 9f Travel to and in the State ; Sketches of the Towns 
and Citied in the Same, etc., etc. [By J. F. Williams. "] Saint 
Paul: E.H. Burritt A Co. 1869. 16«»: pp. 100. [9 cuts, 1 
map.] 

Minnesota as it is in 1870. Its General Resources and 
Attractions ♦ ♦ ♦ with special descriptions of all its 
Counties and Towns. ♦ * * By J. W. McClung. St. Paul: 
Published by the Author. 1870. 12*» : pp. 300. [Map.] 

The Seat of Ebcpire. By Charles Carleton Coffin. 
('« Carleton.") Boston : Fields, Osgood A; Co. 1870. 12^ : 
pp. 232. [Map ;. 6 engravings.] 

Minnesota Gazetteer and Business Directobt. — See 
" State Gazetteers and Directories." 

Edwards' DESCRipnyE Gazetteer of the Mississippi River. 
— See do. do. 

The Sioux War op 1862-8. See " The Indian Tribes of 
Minnesota." 



BIBLIOORAPHT. 25 

EMIGRATION DOCUMENTS, IN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. 

Nachrichtkn ubbb Minkssota. Gesammelt von Eduard 
Pelz. Hamburg, 1858. 8"* : pp. 25. 

Usher AuswANDSRUNa. Von Ed. Pelz. Besonderer Ab- 
dmck ans der ^^Deutschen Auswanderer — ^Ztg." No. 47-49. 
Bremen, 1864. 12'': pp. 25. 

Die Auswahderuno mtt besonderer Beziehuno auf Min- 
nesota TTNB British Columbia. Von Thomas Rawlings. Aus 
dem Englishen ubertragen und eingeleitet, von £duai*d Pelz. 
Hamborg: Hoffman & Catnpe, 1866. 12"*: pp. 68. 

Minnesota in Seinen Hauftyerhaltnissen. Emigratious- 
Monographie von Eduard Pelz. Dritte Auflage. Hamburg : 
Hoffman & Campe. 1866. 8": pp. 52. 

Minnesota og dets Fordele for Invandreren, &o. 
Uddeles gratis. La Crosse, Wis. Trykt : FadrelandetfrOfflcin. 
1867. 12** : pp. 30. [Written by Hon. H. Mattson,] 

Minnesota och dess Fordelar for Inyandraren; &c. 
ntdelas Gratis. Chicago : Svenska Amerikanarens Boktryckeri, 

1867. 12** : pp. 29. [By H. Mattson.] 

Minnesota, (Vereenigde Staten von No|:d-Amerika) in 
z\jne Hulpbronnen, Vruchtbaarheid en Ontwlkkeling Geschetst, 
voor Landverhnizers en Eapitalisten door J. H. Kloos, in- 
genieur. Amsterdam : H. de Hoogh. 1867. 8" : pp. 54. 

Another Edition. With Map. pp. 61. 

iNLICHnNGEN OlfTRBNT DEN St. PaUL EN PACIFIC-SPOORWEai 

medegedeeld door W. v. O. B. Schriver van '^ Amerikaanische 
Fondsen als Geldbelegging." Amsterdam: H. de Hoogh. 

1868. 8**: pp. 20. 

Minnesota das Central-Gebiet Nord Americas. In seinen 
Hanptverhaltnissen dargestellt, von Eduard Pelz. Leipzig: 
Verlagsbuchandlung yon J. J. Weber. 1868. 8** : pp. 31. 

Staten Minnesota; Nordamerika. Dens Fordele for den 
Skandinaviske Invandrer med saerligt hensyn til jordbrugeren. 

Af Soren Listol, Medredaktor af '' Nordisk Folkblad." 1869-70. 

4 



26 MIKKESOTA HISfOBICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Udgivet for SUtens Boning. Uddeles Gratis. Nordiak 
Folkeblad OfBcin, Minneapolis. 1869. 12'' : pp. 25. 

MiNNBSOTA AL8 KDCS HbIMAT FUK EdTWANDEHER. Olltte 

Jahresaasgabe, publizirt in Anftrage des Staatea. St. Panl, 
Minn. 1869. Staats-Zeitong OfBcin. S"" : pp. 40. 



TOWN AND COUNTY HISTORIES. 

An Abdbbss giving the Early History of Hennepin Count}'- 
delivered before the Minneapolis Lyeeom, bj- Col. John H. Ste- 
vens, and published by Order of the Lyceum. Minneapolis : 
Printed at the North-Westem Democrat Office. 1856. 8"*: 
pp. 12. 

Opinion and Decision of Hon. A. G. Chatfield, between 
adverse claimants to lands in the Town site of Hastings. St. 
Paul. 1857. 8**: pp. 20. 

Advantages and Resources of Houston County, Minnesota. 
Hokah, Minn. Published by Reynolds and Wertz. Printed at 
the Hokah Chief Office. 1858. W : pp. 34. 

History of Fillmore County, Minnesota, with an outline 
of her Resources, Advantages, and the Inducements she offers 
to those seeking Homes in the West. By J. W. Bishop, C. £. 
Chatfield, Minn. : Holly & Brown, Printers, Republican Office. 
1858. 12*: pp. 40. [Map.] 

Crrr of Winona and Southern Minnesota: a Sketch of 
their Growth and Prospects, with General Information for the 
Emigrant, Mechanic, Farmer and Capitalist. D. Sinclair & 
Co., Publishers. 1858. 8** : pp. 36. 

School Law : with the Rules and Regulations of the Board 
of Education of the City of St. Anthony. Thomas & Clark, 
Printers, St. Anthony. 1860. 12"*: pp. 15. 

The Charter and Ajcendkemts thereto, and Ordinances 
OF the Citt of St. Anthony. Printed and published by 
authority of the Corporation. Thomas & Clark, City Printers. 
1861. 



BIBUO^RAPHT. 27 

Ck>MMESCiAL Abvibtiseb DiRifiCTOBT, fof Sunt Anthony and 
Minneapolis; to which is added a Business Directory. 
1859-1860. H. E. Chamberlain, Publisher. Saint Anthony & 
Minneapolis. Printed by CrofTut ^e Clarke, News Office. 
1859. 8«»: pp. 162. 

SmocART STATEuaiT of the General Interests of Manufac- 
ture and Trade connected with the Upper Mississippi. By 
Hon. David Heaton. Together with the Hydrographicid Survey 
and Geology of the Mississippi River from Fort Snelling to St. 
Anthony Falls, by T. M. Griffith and Dr. C. L. Anderson. 
Published by the Board of Trade of Minneapolis and St. 
Anthony. 1862. 8"*: pp. 12. 

Minneapolis Directort, for the years 1865-6, comprising a 
complete Directory of citizens and business firms, a classified 
Business Directory, and city and county Register. Price, $2. 
Minneapolis : E. P. Shaw, Publisher. 1865. 8"* : pp. 99. 

Winona Directort for 1866-67: Comprising a Complete 
List of all residents in the City ; City and County Officers, 
Churches, Public Schools, etc. Compiled by John M. Wolfe, 
Winona. A. Bailey, Publisher. 1866, 8** : pp. 124. 

Geoorafhical and Statistical History op the County 
OF Olmsted, together with a general view of the State of 
Minnesota, from its Earliest Settlement to the present time. 
By W. H. Mitchell. Bochester, Minn. : Shaver & Eaton. 
Printers. 1866. 16**: pp. 121,. 

History and Business Directory op Wright County. 
Classified by Towns. Containing a Correct and Concise History 
of Each Tpwn and Village in the County, together with a 
Classified List of all Business Houses, Statistics of Population. 
Wealth, Increase, Crops, &c. Published by George Gray, 
Statesman Office, Monticello, Minn. 1867. 16'': pp. 32. 

Mankato and Blue Earth County. A Brief Review of 
the Past, Present and Future of the City, together with its 
Creographical and Commercial Position, its Schools, Churches, 
Public Halls, Assessed Valuation and Rapid Growth in 1866, 
&c., &c. By Wm. B. Griswold, Editor Mankaio Union. 
Printed by Griswold & Nefl*, Union Office. 1867. 12*: pp. 20. 



28 MINNESOTA HI8T01UCAL COLLECTION8. 

A Vucw OF St. Aitthomt Falls, Ftesent and ProspecUve : 
being a Report of the Manofactoring, Commercial and Greneral 
Advantages of St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota. By W. D. 
Storey. Minnei^lis: Atlas Printing Hoose. 1867. 8^: pp. 
87. 

Wasbca CouiiTT in Minnesota, as a Home for Immigrants. 
By Jas. £. Child. Published and for sale at the Wilton 
Weekly News Office, Wilton, Minn. 1867. 18"* : pp. 52. 

Geographical and Statistical History of Steele Countt, 
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time ; Embracing 
Leading Incidents of Pioneer Life, Names of Early Settlers, 
Nature of Soil, Advantages to Settlers, &c., &c. By W. H. 
Mitchell. Minneapolis: Tribnne Printing Company. 1868. 
16«»: pp.97. 

Dakota Coumtt. Its Past and Present, Geographical, Sta- 
tistical and Historical, together with a General View of the 
State ; by W. H. Mitchell. Tribune Printing Company, Min- 
neapolis. 1868. 16"": pp. 162. [Steel plate of Gen. Sibley 
and six wood cuts.] 

Geographical and Statistical History of the County of 
Hennepin, embracing Leading Incidents in Pioneer Life, the 
Names of the Early Settlers, and the Progress in Wealth and 
Population to the Present Time. By W. H. Mitchell and J. H. 
Stevens. Minneapolis: Bussell & Belfoy, Printers. 1868. 
16** : pp. 149. 

A Record of Rice County, Minn., in 1868, being a Review 
of the Settlement, Growth and Prosperity of the County, and 
a Brief Description of its Towns and Villages. By F. W. 
Frink. Faribault : Printed at the Central Republican Office. 
1868. 12** : pp. 24. 

Blue Earth County : Its Advantages to Settlers. A De- 
scription of its History, Progress, Climate, Soil, Agricultural, 
Manufacturing & Commercial Facilities. To which is added a 
Brief Description of the Other Counties of Southwestern Min- 
nesota. By J. A. Willard, of Mankato. Published by J. C. 
Wise, "Record" Office, Mankato, Minn. 1868. 8^: pp. 20. 



biblioobapht. 29 

The Water Powkb of ths Faixs of St. Antuomt. 1868. 
Third Annual Report of Manufacturing Industry at the Cities 
of Minneapolis and St. Anthony, Minnesota, Ac. Minneapo- 
lis. 1869. 8** : pp. 16. 

Faubault Ck>uKTT, MnniBSOTA : Its History, Towns, Climate, 
Improvements, Villages, Civil, Religious, Moral and Educa- 
tional Institutions, &c., &c. [No imprint.] 12"^: pp.24. 
[1868?] 

SiTPSsMS CouBT : January Term, 1868. Village of Man- 
kato, Respondent, vs. Jno. A. WUlard and Sheldon T. Barney, 
Appellants, Ac, &c. 12^ : pp. 38. 

fSapreme Gonrt brief, containing qalte a tail account of the early Bettle- 
ment of Kankato.] 

BoABD OF Tradb OF THS CiTT OF Mankato. Axticles of 
Corporation, By-Laws, Officers, Committees and Members. 
Organized Sept. 16, 1868. Mankato, Minnesota. 1VIf.nkato 
Union Print. 1869. 8° : pp. 14. 

Capt. p. B. Davy's ExpsDrnoK. Printed April, 1868, at 
Blue Earth City, Minn., in the Office of the »* South West." 
12^: pp. 24. 

[Most of It Is a Sketch of Blue Earth City.] 

Rules akd Regulations for the government of the Public 
Schools in the City of Red Wing, Minnesota. 1869. Argus 
Printing House. 1869. 

Sale of Fobt Snelling Rbsebvation. Letter from the 
Secretary of War, transmitting Papers Relative to the Sale of 
the Fort Snelling Reservation. Dec. 10, 1868. 8** : pp. 107. 

[Ex. Doc. No. 9. 40th Ck>ngTess, 8d Session ; H. of R. Contains a valaable 
Docnmentary History of Fort SneUing, and other historical foots.] 

Strakgebs' Guide in Minneapolis and Surrounding Country. 
With a complete and accurate description of all Places and 
Objects of Interest to Tourists, Artists, Sportsmen, &c. Tables 
of Distances, Statistics, &c. Prepared by a Resident [Newton 
H. Chittenden?] Minneapolis: Tribune Printing Company. 
1869. 16^ : pp. 40. 

Geoobaphical and Statistical Sketch of the Past and 
Present of Goodhue County, together with a general view of 



30 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

the State of Minnesota. By W. H. Mitchell, Minneapolis : 
O. S. King's Book and Job Printing House. 1869. le^*: 
pp. 191. [4 wood cnts.] 

Rbfobt of the Select Committee to which was referred that 
part of the Message of the Governor of Minnesota relating to 
Dulnth, as a Harbor and Port of Entry. Saint Paul : Pioneer 
Printing Company. 1870. 8°: pp.21. [Map.] 

Mankato — ^Dedication of First Presb. Church : see ^' Ser- 
mons/' &c. 

Minneapolis — Westminster Presby. Church. Do. do. 

Parish Manual of Gethsemane Church: see 

" Churches." 

Saint Paul — Institution of the Masonic Order : sec ^^ Ma- 



sonic." 



— Catalogues of Baldwin School and Female 
Seminary : see " Catalogues," &c. 

Saint Anthony — Catalogues of Sigoumey Boarding School 
and State University. Do. do. 

Red Wing — Catalogues of Hamline University. 

Manual of First Presbyterian Church of: 

see '* Churches," &c. 

Stone Heaps at: see Vol. I, Histor. Soc. Coll. 

Faribault — Catalogues of St. Mary's Hall, &c. : see " Cata- 
logues." 

Bishop Seabury Mission : see ^^ Churches." 

NoRTHFiELD — Do. of Northficld College : see '' Catalogues." 
Wasioja — Do. of Minnesota Seminary. Do. do. 

Fort Snelling — See Mrs. Eastman's '^ Dahcotah." 

List of early Steamboat Arrivals at : see Vol. I, 

Histor. Soc. Collections. 

Occurrences from 1819 to 1840 : see Vol. n. Do, 



BIBLIOOHAPHT. 31 

STATE GAZETTEERS AND " DIRECTORIES." 

MiKNssoTA Gazetteer, and Bosiness Directory for 1865. 
Containing a List of Cities, Villages and Post Offices in the 
State ; a list of Business Firms, etc,j etc. With much other 
Useful Information. Saint Paul : Groff & Bailey, Publishers. 
1865. 8« : pp. 399. 

Merwik's Business Dirbciobt of Minnesota, for 1869-70. 
Containing a Classified List, Alphabetically Arranged by 
Towns, of Business Firms, Manufacturing Establishments, 
eto., ^etc. Saint Paul : Heman Merwin, Publisher. 1869. 
8*: pp.308. 

Edward's Descriptive Gazetteer and Commercial Direc- 
tory OF THE Mississippi Riyer, from Saint Cloud to New 
Orleans, embracing Historical and Descriptive Sketches of all 
the Cities, Towns and Villages, etc. , etc. Published by Edwards, 
Greenough & Deved, St. Louis. 1866. 8"* : pp. 1170. [Maps 
and numerous cuts.] 



RELATIONS OF MINNESOTA TO THE NORTHWEST. 

Speech op the Hon. Wm. U. Nobles, together with Other 
Documents, relative to an Emigrant Boute to California 
and Oregon, through Minnesota Territory. Printed by Order 
of the House of Representatives. Saint Paul: Olmsted & 
Brown, Territorial Printers. 1854. 8**: pp. 13.. 

Report from a Select Committee of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, on the Overland Emigration Route from Minnesota 
to British Oregon. With an Appendix. Printed by order of 
the H. of R. St. Paul : Earle S. Goodrich, State Printer. 
1868. 8** : pp. 100. 

Pboceedikgs of a Public Meeting of Citizens of Minnesota, 
in favor of a Semi-Weekly Overland Mail from Saint Paul to 
Puget Sound. Held Jan. 3, 1859. Saint Paul: Pioneer 
Printing Company. 1859. 8^: pp. 16. 

Memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of Saint Paul, rela- 



52 

tire to tbe Navig»tioQ d ttie Bed Rirer of the 
Fk^esented to the House of BepresentatiTes, Feb. 10« 1859, by 
the Hon. James M. Caraiijuigh, of Minnesota. Washington, 
1859. 8*: pp. 15. 

Thb Njkw Nokzh West. Bj [Aer.] Bmdett Hart, Fair 
Haven, Conn. [From the New Englander for Not., 1859.] 
«*•: pp. 21. 

N<»rH-Wnffr BunsH Axekica, and Its Relations to the 
State of Minnesota. Bj James W. Taylor. FHnted as a 
Sopplement to the Joomal of the House of Bepresentattres, 
Session of 1859-^0. St. Panl : Newson, Moore, Foster A Co., 
Printers. 1860. 8'' : pp. 53. 

Do. Do. Another edition, from type of the ^^ Minne- 

sotian A Times.'* March 3, 1860. [With map.] 

Rblatioks between the United States and North-West British 
America. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, in answer 
to a Resolution of tiie House of 20th May last, &c. [Exec. 
Doc. No. 146 : 37tii Congress, 2d Session.] 8"* : pp. 85. July 
11, 1862. 

Idaho : her Gold Fields, and the Routes to them. A Hand 
Book for Emigrants. By Ci^t. Jas. L. Fisk, A. Q. M. 1863. 
New York : John A. Gray, Printer. 18* : pp. 99. [Map.] 

[Beprfnt of the foregoing.] 

ExPEDmoK OF Caft. Fisk to the Bockt Mountains. Let- 
ter ftom the Secretary of War in answer to a resolution of the 
House of Feb. 26. Transmitting report of Captain Fisk of his 
late expedition to the Rocky Mountains and Idaho. 8** : pp. 39. 

[March 8, 1864. Ex. Doc. No. 45: 88th Congraui, Ist Session.] 

Caft. Fisk's Fourth £xPKDrrioN from Saint Cloud, Minne- 
sota, to tiie Great Gold Fields of Montana, &c. 3d edition. 
St. Paul : Press Printing Company. 1866. 12*" : pp. 12. 

[The Winnifeo Rsbeluon :] Message of the President of 
the U. S. communicating, in compliance with a resolution of 
the Senate, information, Ac. Feb. 3, 1870. [Ex. Doc. No. 
33.] 8** : pp. 6?. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 33 

MoniESOTA AND THE Fab West. — See '^ Historical, Deacrip- 
tive," &c. 

MnniEsoTA and Dacotah. — Do. do. 

Emigrant's Quidk to Iowa, WiaconBin and Minnesota. — ' Do. 

Tourist's and Invalid's Guidb to the North West. — Do. 



HYDROGRAPHY OF THE UPPEfe MISSISSIPPI. 

SuRVET OF Upper Mississippi River. . Letter fh>m the 
Secretary of War, in answer to a resolution of the House * 
* * with General Warren's report of the Surveys of the 
Upper Mississippi River and its Tributaries. 8° : pp. 116. 

[Senate Doc. : 89th Congreu, 2d Seflslon. Feb. 15, 1867.] 

Do. Report of G^n. Warren for year ending June 30, 

1867. 8° : pp. 6. 

["Appendix D ; " Report of the Chief of Engineers. Ex. Doc. No. 1 : H. 
of R.; 40th Congress. 2d Session. Dated Sept. H, 1867.] 

Do. Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting 



General Warren's report of a Survey of the Upper Mississippi 
River. 8° : pp. 10. 

[Bx. Doc. No. 217: 40th Congress, 2d Session. April 8, 1868.] 

Do. Report of Gren. Warren for Year ending June 30, 

1868. 8° : pp. 86. 

["Appendix Q; " Report of the Chief of Engineers. Ex. Doc. I, Part 2: H. 
of R.; 40th Congress, 3d Sesssion. Dated Aug. 31, 1868.] 

^* Certain Physical Features of the Upper Mississippi 
River." A paper read by Gen. G. K. Warren before the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science ; 
Chicago, HI. Aug. 5-12, 1868, 8° : pp. 6. 

Nicollet's Report on the Hydrography of the Upper Mis- 
sissippi. — See '^ Early Explorations and Travels." 

Edward's Directory op the Mississippi River. — See 
" Gazetteers," &c. 

Htdrographical Survey of the Mississippi, between Fort 
5 



34 immBSOTA HimroRiCAL ooLLEcnoNS. 

Snelling and St. Anthony Falls. — See **Town and County 
History." 

The Water Poweb of the Falls of St. Anthony. — See do. 

Memoir ok the Physical Geography of Minnesota. — See 
Vol. I, Hist. Soc. Collec. 



THE INDIAN TKIBES OF MINNESOTA. 

Dahcotah ; or Life and Legends of the Sioux around Fort 
Snelling. By Mrer. Mary Eastman ; with preface by Mrs. C. M. 
Kirkland. Illustrated from drawings by Capt. Eastman. New 
York: John Wiley, 161 Broadway. 1849. 12^. Pp.xin,268. 

The RoicANCE of Indian Life. By Mrs. Mary H. Eastman. 
With other tales, Selections from the Iris, an illuminated 
Souvenir. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. 1853. 
8°. Pp. VI, 298. [10 illustrations.] 

[Mrs. Eaatman now resides In Washington City, D. C] 

LuTTEBS AND NoTES ou the Manners, Customs, and Condition 
of the North American Indians. Written during eight years' 
Travel amongst the wildest Tribes of Indians in North America ; 
by Geo. Catlin. In two volumes, with 150 illustrations, &c. 
Philadelphia : Willis P. Hazard. 1857. Pp. 792. 

Dahkotah Land and Dahkotah Life, with the History of 
the Fur Traders of the extreme Northwest during the French 
and British Dominions. By Edw. D. Nelll. Philadelphia: 
Lippincott & Co. 1859. 8° : pp. 239. 
[This \a a reprint of a portion of NelU's History of Minnesota.] 

The Sioux War : What has been done by the Minnesota 
Campaign of 1863 : What sliould be done during a Dakota 
Campaign o( 1864, Etc. By James W. Taylor. Saint Paul : 
Press Printing Co. 1863. 8"* : pp. 16. 

HisTOBT OF THE Sioux Wab and Massacres of 1862 and 1863 ; 
by Isaac V. D. Heard. With Portraits and Illustrations. New 
York: Harper & Brothers. 1864. 8°: pp. 354. [33 engrav- 
ings.] 



BIBLIOORAPHT. 35 

Mrs. Eastlick's Narrative [of Captivity among the Sioux] 

1863. 12<^ : pp. 37. 

Dakota War Whoop; or Indian MasBacres and War in 
Minnesota. By Harriet £. Bishop McConkey. Saint Paul: 
Pablished by D. D. Merrill. Press Printing Company. 1863. 
12® : pp. 304. 

Dakota War Whoop: or, Indian Massacres and War in 
Minnesoto, of 1862-'3. By Harriet £. Bishop McConkey, 
Author of «' Floral Homes,'' &c. Reyised Edition. Saint 
Paul: Published for the Author. Wm. J. Moses' Press, 
Auburn, N. Y. 1864. 12^ : pp. 429. 

Miss Coleson's Narrative of hbr CAPTiyirr Among the 
Sioux Indians ! An Interesting and Remarkable Account of 
the Terrible Sufferings and Providential Escape of Miss Ann 
Coleson, a Victim of the late Indian Outrages in Minnesota. 
Philadelphia : Published by Barclay & Co. 1864. S"* : pp. 70. 
[Several illustrations.] 

Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees: a Narrative of Indian 
Captivity, by Mrs. Sarah F. Wakefield. Second Edition. 
Shakopee : Argus Printing Office. 1864. 12"" : pp. 63. 

A History of the Great Massacre by the Sioux Indians, 
in Minnesota, including the personal narratives of many who 
escaped. By Charles S. Bryant, A. M. and Abel B. Murch. 
(8th thousand.) Cincinnati : Rickey and Carroll, Publishers. 

1864. 12^ : pp. 504. [7 illustrations.] 

Effort & Failure to Civilize the Aborigines. Letter to 
Hon. N. G. Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Arom 
Edward D. Neill, late Secretary Minnesota Historical Society. 
Washington : Government Printing Office. 1868. 

Taofi and His Friends ; or the Indian's Wrongs and Rights: 
Philadelphia : Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger. 1869. 12<'. 
Pp. xvni, 125. [ With portrait of Taopi.] 

White and Red; a Narrative of Life among the North 
West Indians ; by Helen C. Weeks. With 8 illustrations by 
A. P. Close. N. Y. Published by Hard & Houghton. 1869. 
12*: pp.266. 
(OrisinaUy printed in the Riverside Magazine.] 



y 



36 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Tah-koo Wah-kan ; or, the Gospel among the Dakotas ; by 
Stephen R. Biggs, A. M., Missionary of the A. B. C. F. M. 
and author of the Dakota Grammar & Dictionary. With an 
Introduction by S. B. Treat, Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M. 
Boston : Cong. Sabbath-School and Publishing Society. 1869. 
12'': pp. 491. [3 illustrations.] 

Reminiscencbs op Holb-in-the-Dat (Elder and Younger;) 
Julius T. Clark ; and Bey. A. Brunson. Wisconsin Historical 
CoUections. Vol. Y, pages 378-409. [Madison. 1869. 8^] 

Historical and Statistical Information Bespecting the 
History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the 
United States : Collected and prepared by Henry B. Schoolcraft, 
LL. D. Illustrated by Seth Eastman, Capt. U. S. A. Pub- 
lished by Authority of Congress. Philadelphia : Lippincott, 
Grambo&Co. 1851-1857. 4°. 

[ThlB magnlfioent work contains hundreds of references, poMim, to Minne- 
sota and her Indian Tribes, while the illustratioas of Capt. Eastman almost 
wholly refer to this State, its Indian population, and its scenery. The fol- 
owing papers relate entirely to Minnesota:] 

Vol. I. Geographical Memoranda respecting the Discovery of the Missis- 
sippi River, with a Map of its Source, pp. 13S-140; Minnesota, pp. 
181-102; Dacotahs of the Mississippi, by Dr. Thos. B. WlUiamson, 
pp. 247-266 ; Census of Dakotahs, p. 4fl6. 



X' 



> 



Vol. II. The Daootah Tribe, p. 87 ; Natural Caves in the MissiBsippi 
River banks in the Bloux Country, by I. N. Nicollet, p. 95. 

Vol. III. Bloux, or Dakota proper, by P. Prescott, pp. 225-247; The Gods 
of the Dakotas, by Capt. S. Eastman, p. 485; The Giant's Feast and 
Dance, do. p. 487; Indian Population of the Upper Mississippi, 
1806, by Lieut. Z. M. Pike, pp. 562-^0; Bloux Population in 1836, pp. 
612-615. 

Vol. IV. Manners, Customs, and Opinions of the Dakotas, by P. Pres- 
oott, pp. 5^72; Demoniacal Observances of the Dakotahs, by Oapt. 
Eastman, pp. 405-SOl ; Bibliography of Dakota Books, p. 546 ; Power 
and Influence of Dakota Medicine Men, by Rev. G. H. Pond, pp. 
68&-655. 



^y Vol. V. Education among the Dakotas, by Rev. B. R. Rlggs, pp. 0B5-6O8; 
' Bloux Population of the Beven Tribes in 1851, by P. Prescott, p. 101. 

Vol. VI. War between the Chippewa and Bloux, p. 887; Cession of Terri- 
tory in Minnesota by the Ohlppewas, p. 482; Religion and Mytho- 
logical Opinions of the MLsslBslppl Valley Tribes, p. 647. 

" The Mound Builders, &c." By Geo. Gale.— See " HiBtori- 
cal, Descriptive," &c. 



biBLtOGRAPHT. 3*/ 

t>eiTot — ^MoBurs, Coutumes, Religion, Ac, des Sauvages. — 
See " Early Explorations," &c. 

Hennepin — do. 

La Hontan — do. 

Carver's Traveis. — See " Early Explorations," &c. 

Tanner's Narrative of Captivity. — do. 

Schoolcraft — " Personal Memoirs," etc. do. 



DAKOTA BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

In preiMiring this list of Dakota works, (all of wbloh were written in 
Minnesota, for miaalons located In this State, and a number of which were 
also printed here,) I must acknowledge my obligation to Rev. B. R. Riggs. 
now of Ft. Wadsworth, D. T., who kindly revised the list, adding interesting 
notes, and inserting in the proper chronological order some titles not on our 
catalogue, at the same time presenting us with copies of the works, thus 
making our collection on this subject veiy complete. 

Sioux SPELLiKa Book, designed for the use of native 
learners. By Rev. J. D. Stevens, Missionary. 12^: pp. 22. 
Boston : Crocker and Brewster, for the A. B. C. F. M. 1886. 

WicoNi OwiHANKE Wakik Tanin KIN. 12° : pp. 23. Boston : 
Crocker and Brewster, for the A. B. C. F. M. 1837. 

[This little tract contains I>r. Watts' Beoond Catechism for Children, 
translated into the Dakota Language by Joseph Renville, Ben., and Dr. T. S. 
WUliamson.] 

The Dakota First Reading Book. By Gideon H. Pond 
and Stephen R. Riggs. 18^ : pp. 50. Cincinnati, Ohio : 

Kendall and Henry, for the A. B. C. F. M. 1839. 

• 

Joseph Otakapi kin. The Story of Joseph and his Brethren, 
translated from Genesis by Revs. Gideon H. and Samnel W. 
Fond. 18^ : pp. 40. Cincinnati : Kendall and Henry, for the 
A. B. C. F. M. 1839. 

Extracts from Genesis and the Psalms: with the Third 
Chapter of Proverbs, and the Third Chapter of Daniel, in the 
Dakota Language. Translated from the French Bible as pub- 
lished by the Am. Bible Society, by Joseph Renville, Sr. 
Compared with other translations, and prepared for the press 



^8 MlNliESOTA HISTORICAL COLtECTtOMS. 

by Thomas S. Williamson, M. D., Missionary. Cincinnati : 
KendaU and Heniy, for the A. B. C. F. M. 18^ : pp. 72. 1839. 

WoTANiK Waxte Markus Owa KIN. The Gospel according 
to Mark, in the Language of the Dakotas. Translated from the 
^French by Joseph Renville, Sr. : written out and prepared for 
the press by Dr. Thomas S. Williamson, Missionary. Cincin- 
nati : Kendall and Henry, for the A. B. C. F. M. 18** : pp. 
96. 1839. 

Extracts from the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John, from 
the Acts of the Apostles, and from the First Epistle of John, 
in the Language of the Dakota or Sioux Indians. Translated 
firom the French as published by the Am. Bible Society, by 
Joseph Renville, Sr. Written and prepared for the press by 
Thomas S. Williamson, M. D., Missionary. Cincinnati : Ken- 
dall and Henry. 18* : pp. 48. 1839. 

WowAPi MiTAWA : Tamakoce kaga. My Own Book. Pre- 
pared from Rev. T. H. Gallaudefs "Mother's Primer," and 
" Child's Picture Defining and Reading Book," in the Dakota 
Language. By S. R. Riggs, A. M., Missionary of the A. B. C. 
F. M; IBioston : Crocker and Brewster. Square 12^ : pp. 64. 
1842. 

WowApi Ikokpa. The Second Dakota Reading Book. Con- 
sisting of Bible Stories from the Old Testament. By Rev. 
S. W. Pond. Boston : Crocker and Brewster, for the A. B. C. 
F. M. 18° : pp. 64. 1842. 

Dakota Dowanfi kin. Dakota Hymns. Boston : Crocker 
and Brewster, for the A. B. C. F. M. 18° : pp. 97. 1842. 

fXhese HymnB were oompoeed in the Dakota Language by Mr. Joseph 
RenyUle and sons, and the Missionaries of the Am. Board.— S. R. R.] 

WoAHOPE WnccEMNA KDi. (Sheet.) The Ten Command- 
ments and the Lord's Prayer, in the Dakota Language. Boston. 
1842. 

Eliza Mabpi-cokawin, Baratonwan Oyato en Wapiye sa: 
qa Sara Warpanica qon. A narrative of pious Indian women. 
Prepared in Dakota by Mrs. M. A. C. Riggs. Boston : Crocker 
and Brewster, for the Am. Tract Society. 12** : pp. 12. 1842. 



BIBLIOORAPHT. 39 

WiooiCAGE WowAPi QA Odowan Wakak, btc. The Book of 
Crenesis, a part of the Psalms, and the Gospels of Luke and 
John. Cincmnatl,Ohio : Kendall and Barnard, for the A. B. C. 
F. M. 12^• pp. 295. 1842. 

[These translations were made partly firom the original Hebrew and Greek, 
and partly from the French, by Dr. T. 8. WlUlamson, Bev. Q. H. Pond, 8. K. 
Biggs, and Joseph BenvUle, Sen. 1—8. B. B.J 

Jesus Qhnihdewicate cin Abantampi qon; qa Palos 
Wowapi kage dqon; naknn, Jan Woyake ciqon dena cepi. 
Tamakoce okaga. The Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles 
of Paul ; with the Revelation of John ; in the Dakota Language. 
Translated firom the, Greek, by Stephen R. Riggs, A. M. 
Published by the Am. Bible Society. Cincinnati : Kendall and 
Barnard. W : pp. 228. 1843. 

Dakota Wiwanoapi Wowapi. Catechism in the Dakota 
or Sioux Language. By Rev. S. W. Pond, Misssionary of the 
A. B. C. F. M. New Hayen, Conn. : Printed by Hitchcock 
and Stafford. VI"": pp. 12. 1844. 

Dakota Tawoonspe. Wowapi I. Tamakoce kaga. Dakota 
Lessons. Book L By S. R. Riggs, A. M., Missionary of 
A. B. C. F. M. Louisville, Ky. : Morton and Griswold. 
Square 12"" : pp. 48. 1850.' 

Dakota Tawoonspe. Wowapi II. Dakota Lessons. Book 
II. By S. R. Riggs, Missionary, etc. Louisville, Ky. : Morton 
and Griswold. . Square 12'': pp. 48. 1850.' 

Dakota Tawaxitku Kin. The Dakota Friend, a small 
monthly paper in Dakota and English, published at Saint Paul 
by the Dakota Mission. Rev. G. H. Pond, Editor. 1850-2. 

[In all, 20 nomben .were publlahed. The first 12 (Vol. I) were In a smaU 
three oolamn size. The second volame was enlarged to foar oolamns. The 
first nnmber was Issued In Nov. 1850. It Is asserted that there is bnt one 
other Instance known of a periodical being published In an American 
aboriginal Umgue, viz., among the Cherokees^— W.] 

1. Mr. BenvlUedied at Lac qui Parle In 1846. Notices of him may be found 
in Rev. E. D. NeilPs History of Minnesota, and also In '*Th6 Gospel among 
the Dakotas " by 8. R. Rlggs. 

2. The printing of these two little books was superintended by Uev 
Robert Hopkins, who was drowned at Traverse des Slouz on the 4th of 
July, I85I. 



40 mifNEfiOTA BISrORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Gbakmar and DicnoNASY of the Dakota Language, collected 
bj the members of the Dakota Mission. Bj Bev. S. R. Rigga, 
A. M., Missionary of A. B. C. F. M. Under the patronage of 
the Historical Society of Minnesota. Printed by B. Craighead, 
53 Yesey Street, New York, 1852 ; for the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, Washington City. 4*" : pp. 34 ; 338. 

Ah Ekolish and Dakota Vocabulabt. By Mrs. M. A. C. 
Biggs. S"* : pp. 120. 1852. [This material is included in the 
larger work, put in this smaller form for the use of Dakota 
schools.] 

IHaylog lived twent7-«igbi yean In Hlnneeota, twentj-five of which was 
among the Dakotas, Mrs. Rlgga died in Belolt, Wis., March 22, 1809.1 

Dakota Odowan. Hymns in the Dakota Language with 
Tunes. Edited by S. B. Biggs, Missionary of A. B. C. F. M. 
Published by the American Tract Society, New York. 1855. 
12<» : pp. 127. 

The Pelgbim's Progress, by John Bunyan ; in the Dakota 
language ; translated by Stephen B. Biggs, A. M., Missionary 
of A. B. C. F. M.. Published by the American Tract Society, 
150 Nassau Street, New York. 18* : pp. 264. 1857. 

[A second edition has been printed. Prom this on, oar books have been 
nearly aU stereotyped.— 8. B. R.] 

The Constitution of Minnesota, in the Dakota language ; 
translated by Stephen B. Biggs, A. M. By order of the 
Hazlewood Bepublic. Boston : Press of T. B. Marvin & Son, 
42 Congress Street. 12'': pp. 36. 1858. 

WowAPi NiTAWA, Your own Book. A Dakota Primer for 
schools. By S. B. Biggs. Square 12° : pp. 32. Minneapolis. 
1863. 

Dakota Odowan. Hymns in the Dakota Language. Edit- 
ed by Stephen B. Biggs and John P. Williamson, Missionaries 
of the A. B. C. F. M. Published by the American Tract So- 
ciety, New York. 1863. 18^ : pp. 162. 

[This book is electrotyped. Fonr editions have been printed. To the last, 
published in 1809, twenty pages of new matter were added. The book now 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 41 

has pp. 182, and contains 170 Hymns and Ohants. The Initials of the anthors 
are appended-" Mr. B.," "J.B.," "A.R.," "T.8. W.," "G. H.P.," "8. W. 
P.," "J. P. W.," "A. W. H.," "L. L." and "A. D. F."]l 

Dakota Wiwicawangapi kin. Dakota Catechism. Prepared 
from the Assembly's Shorter Catechism. By S. R. Biggs, 
Missionary of A. B. C. F. M. Published by the American 
Tract Society, New York. 24° : pp. 86. 1864. 

(Two editions liave been printed.] 

WooNspE Itakihna. Ehakeun okaga. " Precept upon Pre- 
cept/' translated into the Dakota Language by John B. Ren- 
ville. Prepared for the press by S. R. Riggs. Published by 
the American Tract Society, Boston. IS'' : pp. 228. 1864. 

OowA WowAPi. The book of Letters ; an illustrated school 
book. By John P. Williamson, Missionary of A. B. C. F. M. 
Printed for the mission by the American Tract Society, New 
York. 12^ : pp. 84. 1865. 

Dakota Wowapi Wakan kin. The New Testament in the 
Dakota Language ; translated from the original Greek, by Ste- 
phen R. Riggs, A. M., Missionary of the A. B. C. F. M. New 
York: American Bible Society. 16^: pp. 408. 1865. 

WicoiCAGE Wowapi, Mowis owa: qa Wicoie Wakan kin, 
Solomon kaga. Pejihuta Wicashta Dakota iapi en kaga. The 
Books of Genedis and Proverbs in the Dakota Language ; 
translated from the original Hebrew, by Thomas S. Williamson, 
A. M., M. D. New York : American Bible Society. 1865. 
16**: pp. 115. 

Dakota A., B. C. Book. By S. R. Riggs. Chicago : Dean 
and Ottawary. Square 12<^ : pp. 40. 1866. 

Dakota A. B. C. Wowapi kin. The Dakota Primer. By 
S. R. Riggs, Missionary of A. B. C. F. M. New York : Amer- 
ican Tract Society. Square 12° : pp. 64. 1868. 

The Book of Psalhs. Translated from the Hebrew into the 

1 The inltalB "A. W. H." and "A. D. F." stand for Amos W. Haggins and 
Antoine D. Frenlere. The former was klUed at his home at Lao-qui-Parle on 
the idth of August, 1802, the second day of the outbreak. Notices of Mr. Hng- 
glns may be found In ** The Gospel among the Dakotas." Mr. Frenlere, who 
was himself a half-breed, was killed by hostile Indians, in the summer of 
1868, as he descended the Missouri Blvor in a canoe, alone.— B. B. R. 
6 



42 inMKESOTA BISrOBICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Dakota language, by S. B. Biggs, Missionary of the A. B. C. 
F. M. New York : American Bible Society. IB"* : pp. 133. 
1869. 

The Books of Exodus akd Leyiticus. Translated from the 
Hebrew into the Dakota language, by T. S. Williamson, M. D., 
Missionary of A. B. C. F. M. New York : American Bible 
Society. W : pp. 65 and 47. 1869. 

Waxamtanka Ti Ki Cakku. ^PcUh to Heaven.^ By Rev. 
A. Bavoux. 2d edition. St. Paul : Pioneer Printing Com- 
pany. 1863. 18'*: pp. 88. 

Caltabt Wiwicawangapi. Wowapi, &c. (Calvary Catechism 
in the Dakota language.) Translated for the Mission of St. 
John. Faribault, Minn. : Central Republican Office. 1864. 
24** : pp. 50. 

[By Rev. S. D. Hlnman ?J 

Ikce Wocekite Wowapi. Qa Isantanka Makoce. Kin en 
Token Wohduze, qa okodakiciye Wakan en Tonakiya Woecon 
kin, hena de he Wowapi kin ee. Samuel Dutton Hinman, 
Missionary to Dakotas. St. Paul : Pioneer Printing Company. 
1865. 12**: pp. 821. 
[A traDBlatloa of the Eplaooi^al Book of Common Prayer. J 

Odowan. [ITymfU).] Philadelphia: McCalla A Stavely, 
Printers. 1869. 24° : pp. 26. 

[By Rev. 8. D. Hlnmant] 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Della YriA E Deoli Scritti di Costantino Beltrami da Ber- 
gamo. Scropritore delle Fonti del Missisipi, di Gabriele 
Rosa. Bergamo, dalla Tipografia Pagnoncelli : 1861. 12^: 
pp. 34. 

CosTAMTiNO Beltrahi DA Beroamo. Notizic e Lettere pub- 
blicate per cura del Municipio di Bergamo, e dedicate alia 
Societa' Storica di Minnesota. Bergamo, dalla Tipografia 
Pagnoncelli. 1865. 8** : pp. 184. [Photo, of Beltrami.] 

Serving our Oeneration. A Discourse Commemorative of 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 43 

the Life Work of John D. Ford, M. D. Delivered in the First 
Baptist Church, Winona, Nov. 3, 1867. By Rev. George M. 
Stone. Winona: Green & Gile, Printers. 1867. 12"^: pp. 
18. [Photographic portrait.] 

The Poets and Posttbt of Minnksota — See ^* Poetical and 
Literary." 

Taniyer, John — See Tanner's Captivity. 

Taofi (or « Wounded Man">--See " The Indian Tribes," &c. 

Sketch of J. N. Nicollet — See vol. I, Hist. Soc. Coll. 

Sketch of Joseph Renville — See do. do. 

Sketch of J. M. Goodhue — See do. do. 

Sketch of Constantine Beltrami — See Vol. n, Hist. Soc. 
Collections. 

Sketch of Carver — See Carver Centenary. 



MILITARY. 

Correspondence on the Occasion of the Presentation by 
Major Gen. Sanford, United States Minister, Resident at the 
Court of Brussels, of a Battery of Steel Cannon, to the State 
of Minnesota, for the ase of the First Minnesota R^^ent of 
Volunteers. St. Paul: Press Printing Company. 1862. 8"^: 
pp. 12. 

[War Record of Minnesota.] Annual Report of the Adju- 
tant General of the State of Minnesota for the year ending 
Dec. 1, 1866, and of the Military Forces of the State, fVom 
1861 to 1866. Saint Paul: Pioneer Printing Company. 1866. 
8** : pp. 805. 

HisTORT OF the Third Reoihent Infantry Minnesota Vol- 
unteers, with the Final Record of the Original Regiment. Com- 
piled by C. W. Lombard. Faribault: Central Republican 
Office. 1869. Pp. 16. 



44 IflKNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

MASONIC. 
By-Laws of St. Paul Lodge No. 1, of Free and Accepted 
Masons ; and of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. Adopted 1849. 
St. Paul : Printed by J. A. Aitkenside. 1849. 16^ : pp. 36. 

(Oontaliui a brief History of the establtehment of the Order In this State.] 

Installation Address to St. Paul Lodge No. 8, by Brother 
A. C. Smith, P. M., delivered on the evening of Dec. 22, 1857, 
the 237th Anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgriins. Print- 
ed by order of the Lodge. St. Paul : Pioneer & Democrat 
Office. 8** ; pp. 10. 

Public Celebration of St. John the Baptist's Day, by 
Winona Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M. Dedication of their 
Hall and Address, by the M.*. W.'. A. T. C. Pierson, G.*. M.*., 
at Winona, June 24, 1863. St. Paul : Pioneer Printing Com- 
pany. 1863. 8o : pp. 19. 

Public Installation of the Officers of Hennepin Lodge 
No. 4, A. F. & A. M., at Minneapolis, Minn., Dec. 27, 1862, 
and Address by the M.-. W.'. A. T. C. Pierson, G.'. M.*. St. 
Paul : Pioneer Printing Company. 1863. 8° : pp. 19. 

Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Ancient ^ree and Ac- 
cepted Masons, of Minnesota, at its Grand Annual Communica- 
tions in the City of St. Paul ; from February 25, A.*. L.*. 5853, 
to January 14, A.-. L,*. 5869. St. Paul : Pioneer Book and 
Job Printing Company. 1869. 8^ : pp. 695. 

Ceremonial for a Lodge of Sorrow. Compiled and Ar- 
ranged by A. T. C. Pierson, 33, for Ancient Landmark Lodge, 
No. 5, at the request of H. L. Carver, W.*. M.*. St. Paul : 
Pioneer Printing Company. 1869. 12^: pp. 19. 



RAILROADS. 

The Rah«road System of the State of Minnesota, with its 
Connections. By James W. Taylor. Reported to the Com- 
mon Council of the City of St. Paul, March 31, 1859, in pursu- 
ance of a Resolution of the City Council. 1,000 copies ordered 



BIBUOGRAPHT. 45 

printed by the St. Paul Common Conncil. 8t Paul : Geo. W. 
Moore, City Printer. 1869. 8** : pp. 22. 

An Act Proposing ▲ Loan of State Credit to the Land Grant 
Bailroad Companies ; with arguments in favor of its Approval 
by the People. St. Paul : Pioneer and Democrat Office. 8*" : 
pp. 32. 

Issue of Minnesota State Bonds to Land Grant Railroads. 
St. Paul : Pioneer and Democrat Office. 1858. S"" : pp. 8. 

In Supreme Court of the United States, December Term, 
1855. The United States vs. the Minnesota and North Western 
Bailroad Company. Motion for the United States. C. Cush- 
iDg, Attorney General. 8° : pp. 11. 

Memorial of the Minnesota and North Western Railroad 
Company to His Excellency James Bachanan, President of the 
United Stotes. 1857. New York : 8*» : pp. 12. 

Charter, Bt-Laws and Rules and Regulations of the Minne- 
apolis and Cedar Valley Railroad Company. Adopted by the 
Board of Directors at a Session held at Northfleld, Jaly 9, 1857. 
St. Paul: Groodrich, Somers &*Co., Printers. 1857. 

First Annual Report of the President and Directors of the 
Minnesota Central Railway Company ; with the Report of the 
Chief Engineer and Saperintendent ; also, a Compilation of 
Acts of the Legislature,. and of Congress, relating to the same. 
January 1, 1866. Minneapolis: 1866. S"*: pp. 88. 

An Act to Incorporate the Nininger and St. Peter Western 
Railroad Company. Approved March 4, 1857. St. Paul: 
Goodrich, Somers & Co., Printers. 1857. 8"* : pp. 13. 

The Minnesota Vallet Raiukoad Company, St. Paul, Min- 
nesota. Organized March 16, 1864. Grants of Land, Char- 
ter and Laws upon which the organization is based. St. Paul : 
Pioneer Office. 1866. 8'' : pp. 46. 

Trust Deed, Securing the First Mortgage Bonds, with Plan 
of Preferred Stock, First and Second Issue. Minnesota Valley 
Railroad Company, St. Paul, June, 1867. Ramaley & Hall, 
Printers. 8** : pp. 89. 

The Minnesota Vallet Railroad, forming Part of the Ex- 



46 MDOIBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIOIIS. 

tenBion of the Union Pacific Railroad, via Sioux City and St. 
Paal, to Lake Superior. Its ConBtmction and Reaoorces. 
Office, St. Paul, Minnesota. New York : 1868. S*" : pp. 8. 
[Map.] 

AGRxraoEMT AHD MoBTGAGE of St. Paol and Sioox City Rail- 
road Company, Secoring Special Stock. St. Paul : Dispatch 
Printing Company. 8^ : pp. 16. [n. d.] 

Graht of Lauds to the Minnesota and Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany, and others, together with Act of Congress in Relation to 
the Same. St. Paol : Groodrich, Somers & Co., Printers. 1857. 
8* : pp. 27. 

Do. Do. The Acceptance of the Grant, and By-Laws 

of the Company. St. Paul : Groodrich, Somers & Co., Printers. 
1857. 8*»: pp.89. 

FmsT RsFOBT of the Officers of the Minnesota and Pacific 
RaUroad Company. Presented January 12, 1858. St. Paul : 
Goodrich, Somers & Co., Printers. 8^ : pp. 20. 

FmsT Division of the St. Paid and Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany, St. Paul, Minn. Organized February 6, 1864. Grants 
of Land, Charter, Agreement and Proceedings upon which the 
Organization is based. New York: 1865. 8^: pp.88. [Map.] 

Rappobt van DEM Ingenieub, J. H. Kloos, omtrent den St. 
Paul-en Pacific Spoorweg, en de waarde der Landerijen, uit- 
makende het onderpand der 7 pCt Obligatien. [Printed at 
Amsterdam, 1866.] 8^ : pp. 14. 

The Fibst Division of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad 
Company, St. Paul, Minnesota. Main Line, from St. Anthony 
to Breckenridge. Organized February 6, 1864. Grants of 
Land, Charter, &c. St. Paul : 1868. 8* : pp. 84. 

GuiDB TO THE LAin>s of the First Division of the St. Paul 
and Pacific Railroad Company. Main and Branch Lines, &c. 
St. Paul, MinnesoU : Pioneer Printing Company. 1868. 8'' : 
pp. 25. [Numerous Maps.] 

A Guide to the Winoha Ain> St. Peter Railboad LAin>s : 
Winona, Minn. 1865. Milwaukee : Sentinel Printing House. 
8* : pp. 11. 



BIBLIOO&APEnr. 47 



,\ 



SoiJTHEBN MiKKESOTA Bailroad Cohpakt. Prospectus, with 
Charter, Land Grants, Map, StatiBtics, etc. New York: 
Brown & Hewitt, Printers, 37 Park Bow. 1865. 8^ : pp. 78. 
[Map.] 

Do. Another edition : 1868. pp. 82. [Map.] 

Pbospeotus of the Southebk Minnesota Bailroad. Maps 
and Statistics. • * New York : Brown & Hewitt, Printers, 
30 Frankfort street. 1869. S"" : pp. 20. [Maps.] 

Statement of the St. Paul and CmcAoo Bailway Company. 
Bespecting the issue of its First Mortgage Land Grant Sinking 
Fund Bonds, &c. St. Paul : Bamaley & Hall, Commercial 
Office. 1867. 80 : pp. 15. [Map.] 

CiBCULAB of the Burlington, Cedar Bapids and Minnesota 
BaUway Company. [N. Y., 1869.] 8*' : pp. 36. [Map.] 

An Act to Incorporate the Lake Superior and Mississippi 
Bailroad Company, approved March 8, 1861. Also, An 
Amendment, approved March 6, 1863. St. Paul : Press Print- 
ing Company. 1863. 8'' : pp. 15. 

State and Congressional Legislation relating to the Lake 
Superior and Mississippi Bailroad Company. St. Paul : Press 
Print. 1864. 8*^ : pp. 83. 

Do. With report of the Engineer, pp. 33. 

Legislation Belating to the Lake Superior and Mississippi 
Bailroad Company. Printed by D. Bamaley. St. Paul : 1864. 
8*> : pp. 24. 

Bbpobt of the Engineer of^he Lake Superior and Missis- 
sippi Bailroad Co. St. Paul : Press Print. 1864. 8° : pp. 7. 

The Lake Superior and Mississippi Bailroad, Connecting 
the Mississippi and Minnesota Bivers and the Bailroad System 
of Minnesota and California with Lake Superior. St. Paul : 
Press Printing Company. 1864. 8*^: pp. 11. 

Do. Another edition, with Map. pp. 56. Press Print- 
ing Company. 1866. 
Do. Another e^jition, [no imprint.] pp. 71. [Map.] 

Do. Another edition. Press Printing Company. 1868. 

pp. 76. [Map.] 



48 MIMKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIOMS. 

Pacific Railroad Suryets. Letter from the Secretat}* of 
War, [Jeff. Davis] transmitting Reports of Surveys, &c., of 
Railroad Routes to the Pacific Ocean. [House of Reps. £x. 
Doc. No. 46, 33d Cong., 1st session, February 6, 1854.] 8^ : 
pp. 118. 

Reports op Explorations and Survets, to ascertain the 
most practicable and economical Route for a Railroad from the 
Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Made under the direc- 
tion of the Secretary of War, in 1853-4, according to Acts of 
Ck>ngress of March 3, 1853 ; May 31, 1854, and August 5, 
1854. [Thirteen Volumes, quarto.] Washington: 1855-60. 

smoLB papers. 

1. BoQte near the 47Ui and 49th ParaleUi of North Latitude. Vol. 1. pp. 

89-65. 

2. Synopsis of a report of the Beoonnoisanoe of a BaUroad Bonte tmm 

Paget Sound via South Pass to the Mississippi River. By Fred. W. 
Lander, OItU Engineer. Washington, D. O.. 1866. pp. 45. Vol. I J. 
VolufM Jrri, FarU I and JI, are wholly dsvoUd to tks jrortkom lUmto, v4m : 

Part 1. 1. Narrative and final Beport of Exploration for a Bonte for a Pa- 
cific Ballroad near the 47th and 49th paralells of North Latitude, from 
St. Paul to Paget Sound, by Isaac I. Stevens, Governor of Washington 
Territory. 1855. pp. 858: 41. [2 Maps. 1 Profile, 70 Engravings.] 

Part II. 2. Botanl<^ Beport. pp. 7-76; 6 plates. 8; Zoological Beport; 
pp. 1-899. Plates 76. 

The Gbeat Commebcial Pbize, addressed to every American 
who values the prosperity of his country. By Charles C. CoflSn, 
a member of the Boston Press. Boston : A. Williams & Ck)., 
100 Washington street. 1858. 8** : pp. 28. 

Speech of Hon. James Shields, of Minnesota, on the 
Pacific Railroad Bill ; delivered in the Senate of the United 
States, January 7, 1859. Washington : 1859. 8^ : pp. 6. 

Pacific Bailboad. Minority Report, of Hon. C. Aldrich, 
from the Select Committee on the Pacific Railroad, submitting 
considerations in favor of the Northern Route. House Doc. 
No. 428, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., AprU 16, 1860. 8" : pp. 9. 

Pacific Railboad — ^Nobthebn Route. Letter of Hon. Isaac 
I. Stevens, Delegate from Washington Territory, to the Rail- 
road Convention of Washington and Oregon, called to meet 
at Vancouver, W. T., May 20, 1860. Washington : T. McGill, 
Printer. 1860. 8° : pp. 24. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 49 

NoBTHSBN Pacific Railroad Compakt. Policy for the man- 
agement of its affairs, adopted by the Board of Directors, Jan. 
11, 1865. S**: pp. 4. [No imprint.] 

Boston Board of Trade. Report on the Northern Pacific 
Railroad, made to the Grovemment of the Board, and onani- 
moosly adopted, November 27, 1865. Boston: 1865. 8*": 
pp. 22. 

Northern Pacific Railroad. Memorial of the Board of 
Direction of the Company, with communications from Lieut. 
Gen. Grant, Br. Maj. Gen. Meigs, Q. M. G. ; and Brv. Mig. 
Gen. Ingalls, A. Q. M. ; and Report of the Engineer in Chief. 
Nov., 1867. [Senate Mis. Doc. No. 9, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., 
Dec. 17, 1867.] 8**: pp. 39. [Map.] 

Same ; another edition. Case, Lock wood & Co., Hart- 
ford : pp. 56. [2 Maps.] 

Northern Pacific Railroad. Statement of its Resources 
and Merits, as presented to the Pacific Railroad Committee of 
Congress, H. R., by Hon. J. Gregory Smith, Hon. R. D. Rice, 
of Maine ; Hon. Wm. B. Ogden, of Chicago ; G<>v. Marshall, 
of Minn., and £dwin F. Johnson, Civ. £ng., March, 1868. 
Washington : Intelligencer Pr. House. 8^ : pp. 24. 

Letter upon the Agricultural and Mineral Resources of the 
North-Westem Territories, on the Route of the Northern Pacific 
Railroad. By Philip Ritz, of Walla Walla. Chronicle Print, 
Washington, D. C. [1868.] 8^ : pp. 8. 

The Northern Pacific Railway ; its effect upon the Public 
Credit, the Public Revenues, and the Public Debt. Speech of 
Hon. William Windom, of Minnesota, delivered in the House 
of Representatives, January 5, 1869. Washington: Gibson 
Brothers, Printers. 1869. 8^ : pp. 60. 

The Policy of Extekdiko Goverkhent Aid to additional 
Railroads to the Pacific, by Guaranteeing interest on their 
Bonds. Report of the Majority of the Senate Committee on 
Pacific Railroad. February 19, 1869. [Senate Doc. No. 219, 
40th Cong., 8d Session.] 8"* : pp. 81. 



do MIK1IE80TA H18TOBICAL COLLECTIOH8. 

NoRTHSBN Pacific Saiukoad. Report of Edwin F. Johnson, 
Engineer in Chief, to the Board of Directors. April, 1869. 
Hartford : 1869. 8° : pp. 78. [6 maps.^ 



SOCIETIES AND CONVENTIONS. 
Ikdepemdemt Order of Odd Fellows. Proceedings of the 
B. W. Grand Lodge of Minnesota. 1854 to 1869. S"" : pp. 528. 

_- — » 

Journal of the Second Sitting of the Third House of SoTer- 
eigns. Saturday Evening, Feb. 16, 1856. Sol. Smith, Printer 
to the ** Sovereigns." 8® : pp. 15. 

Do. Third Session. Printed at the expense of the 

Sovereigns : 1860. 8^ : pp. 24. 

Keports of the Agricultural and Mechanical Club of the 
Minnesota Legislature, held at the State House, St. Paul,- dur- 
ing the Winter of 1859-60. Minneapolis : Hyde & Williams, 
Minnesota Beacon Office. 8^ : pp. 32. 

Third Annual Fair of the Hennepin County Agricultural 
Society, to be held at Minneapolis, Sept. 26, 27 and 28, 1865. 
Atlas Printing Company, Minneapolis, Minn.: 1865. 8°: 
pp. 15. ^ 

Fourth Annual Fair, do. 1866. Pp. 21. 

Fkeutvu List and Bules and R^^lations of the 8th Annual 
Fair of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, to be held 
at the Fair Ground in Rochester, on the 2d, 3d, 4th and 5th of 
October, 1866. Atlas Printing Company, Minneapolis : 1866. 
8** : pp. 35. 

Do. 10th Annual Fair, at Minneapolis, 1868. Pp. 31 . 

Do. 11th " " at Rochester, 1869. Pp.31. 

Procbedikos op the First Annual Meeting of the Minnesota 
Editors' and Publishers' Association, held at St. Paul, Febru- 
ary 20 and 21, 1867. 12*» i pp. 21. 

Do. For 1868. 8*» : pp. 22. 

Do. For 1869. 8° : pp. 36. 



BXBUOOBAPHT. 51 

Pbocbbdiicgs of the Cohveiition of Colored Citizbnb of the 
State of Minnesota, in Celebration of the Anniversary of Eman- 
cipation, and the Reception of the Electoral Franchise, on the 
First of January, 1869. St. Paul : Press Print. 1869. 89 : 
pp. 31. 

TRAiTSAcnoNS OF THE MiNirssoTA State Medioal SociBTr. 
St. Paal: Pioneer Book and Job Printing Company. 1870. 
8«» : pp. 46. 



SCHOOL AND COLLEOS CATALOGUES. 

Catalogues of the Baldwik School and the Academic De- 
partment of the College of St. Paal, Minnesota, xdccclit. 
St. Paul : Printed at the Minnesotian Oflace. 1854. 8"" : pp. 15. 

Addresses at Dedication of Baldwin School : see *' Saint 
Paul." 

CmcuLAB AND CATALOGUE of the Saint Paal Female Semi- 
nary, Saint Paul, Minnesota. 1858-1861. St. Paal : Pioneer 
Print. 1861. 8"" : pp. 12. 

Do. For 1862-1864. Printed by F. Somers, New 

York. Pp. 16. 

FiBST Annual Catalogue of the Preparatory Department of 
the Hamline University, Bed Wing, Minn., Ang., 1855. Bed 
Wing : Meritt & Hatchins, Printers. 18551 8^ : pp. 17. 

Biennial Catalogue of Hamline University, for the Collegi- 
ate Year 1859-60. Bed Wing, Minnesota : Habbard A Davis, 
Printers. 1860. 8^: pp.20. 

Catalogue for year ending Jane, 1868. 8^ : pp. 24. 

Do. For year ending Jane, 1866. 8^ : pp. 31. 

'^ Hamline Untvebsitt Magazine :** see ^^ Magazines.'' 

Catalogue of the Officebs and Students of the Minnesota 
Seminary, Wasioja, Dodge Co. Wasioja : " Minnesota Free 
Will Baptist" Office. 1861. 8P: pp. 24. 



52 MIKNEfiOTA HISTORICAL OOLLECnOMS. 

FiBST Annual Cibcdlab and Cataix>oub of the Sigoarney 
Boaixling School, St. Anthony, Minnesota. 1860-61. St. 
Anthony : Thomas & Clarke, Printers. 1861. 

First Annual Bbgistbr of the Minnesota State Normal 
School, at Winona, for the Academical year 1866-67. Wi- 
nona, September, 1867 : Republican FHnt. 8° : pp. 22. 

Uniyersitt of Minnesota. Catalogue of the Officers and 

Students of the Preparatory Department, with a Statement of 

the Courses of Instruction, 1867-8, St. Anthony, Aug., 1868. 

Published by the University. Minneapolis: Tribune Print. 

8° : pp. 20. 

Report of the ComoTTBE on Organization, made to the 
Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, May 7, 1869. 
Published by the Board. Minneapolis : Tribune Printing Co. 
1869. 8*^ : pp. 38. 

Annual Catalogues and Circulars of the Shattuck Gram- 
mar School, Faribault, Minn. Faribault : Central Republican 
Office. 12°. 1866-1869. 

Catalogue of the Instructors and Members of the State 
Teachers* Institute, Minnesota. [From March 29, to May 11, 
1868.] Republican Printing House, Winona. 1868. 8*: pp.21. 

Do. 1868. 8° : pp. 34. 

The First Annual Catalogue of Northfield College, North- 
field, Minn., July, 1868. H. A. Kimball, Printer. 8° : pp. 12. 

Catalogue op the Schools of the Bishop Seabury Mission, 
1865-6, Faribault, Minn. Central Republican Office. 1866. 
8'' : pp. 28. 

Diocese of Minnesota. Saint Mary's Hall Register, Fari- 
bault. Faribault: Central Republican Office. 12^. 1867 to 
1869. V. d. 



BIBUOOEAPHY. 58 



CHUBCHES AKD BBLIGI0U8 ASSOCIATIONS. 

MmuTES of the Mmoesota Baptist AsBociation. 1852-1869.^ 
12^. v.d. 

Do. Minnesota Central Baptist Association. 1858- 

1869. 12^. v.d. 

* 

Do. Anniversaries of the Minnesota Baptist State 

Convention. 1859-1869. 8°. v. d. 

Do. Northern Baptist Association. 1861-1869. 8o. 

v.d. 

Do. Zambro Baptist Association. 1861-1869. S"". 



V. d. 



Do. Minnesota Valley Baptist Association. 1859- 



1869. 12^ v.d. 



— • — Do. Southern Minnesota Baptist Association. 1855- 
1869. 8^. v.d. 

Do. Crow River Baptist Association. 1868-1869. 

12°. v. d. 

MiNUTBS of the Minnesota Annual Conference of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. 1856-1869. 8o. v. d. 

MnnTTES of the Annual Sessions of the General Conference 
of the Congregational Churches in Minnesota. 1856-1869. 
8*». V. d. 

JouBNAi. of the Proceedings of the Annual Conventions of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Minnesota. 
1856-1869. 8*. v.d. 

Kbcosd of the Organization and First Session of the Synod 
of Minnesota, with the Opening Discourse, by the Rev. Thos. 
S. Williamson, M. D. St. Paul: Daily Minnesotian Print. 
1858. 8°: pp. U. 

A ELkKP Book for the Presbyterian Church in Minnesota, 
designed to promote order in, and love for the Sanctuary. 
Prepared by Edward D. Neill. Philadelphia: Printed by 
Henry B. Ashmead. 1856. 24"" : pp. 72. 



54 MIMNESOTA HISTOBlCAt OOLL£CnOK8. 

ICahual of the First Presbyterian Church of Bed Wing, 
Minn., with a Brief Historical Sketch. Bed Wing: Bepublican 
Office. 1868. 24'' : pp. 38. 

Pabish Mavual of the Chorch of Grethsemane, Minneapolis, 
Minn. ; Organized A. D. 1856.^ Minneapolis : 1869. pp. 18. 

A Memorial to the Board of Tmstees of the Minnesota 
Church Foundation, with additions and an i^pendix. Contain- 
ing the Charter and By-Laws of the Board, and the Charter of 
^* Christ Church Orphans' Home and Hospital for Minnesota.** 
By the Bev. J. V. Van Ingen, D. D. St. Paul : Pioneer Print- 
ing Co. 1860. 8o : pp. 84. 

Mission Papbb of the Bishop Seabury Mission. Numbers 1 
to 87. 8^ Faribault, v.d. 

Elkvjektu Annivebsabt of the Minnesota Bible Society, held 
in the First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, June 8, 1862, 7} 
p. M. St. Paul : Press Printing Co. 1862. 8'' : pp. 7. 

FouRTEBNTH do. ; with its Constitution, List of Officers, and 
Local Agents of Auxiliaries. St. Paul, Minn., June, 1864. 
David Bamaley, Printer. S^ : pp. 82. 

Akkual Bepobt of the State Central Comboitee to the 
Minnesota Sabbath-School Association, assembled in Conyen- 
tion at Hastings, June 26, 1866. 8'' : pp. 14. 

Do. Bochester, June 18, 1867. Pp. 15. 

Pboceedinos of the Tenth Anniiftl Conyention of the Minne- 
sota State Sabbath-School Association, held at Faribault, June 
16, 17, and 18, 1868. Published for the Association. 1868. 
8* : pp. 72. 

P&ocBEDiNos of the Minnesota Universalist Sunday-School 
State Convention, including the articles of Incorporation and 
Constitution of the Convention, &c. First Annual Session. 
Held at Minneapolis, Sept. 1st and 2d, 1869. St. Paul : 1869. 
8° : pp. 18. 

First Annual Beport and Constitdtion of the Brotherhood 
of the Parish of the Good Shepherd, Faribault, Minn. Pub- 
lished by the Brotherhood. Central Bepublican Office. 1870. 
12<> : pp. 16. 



BIBUOO&APHT. 55 

Thk Papal Enctclical. A Pastoral Letter: see '* Ser- 
mons," &c. 

HisTOBicAL Sketch of Westmuisteb Presb. Church : see 
'* SermoDB/' &c* 

Mahual or Fnurr Baptist Ghubch, St. Paul : see *'8t. Paul." 

Gospel among the Dakotas : see ^* Indian Tribes of Minne- 
sota." 



SERMONS AND RELIGIOUS ESSAYS. 

The Poutigal Chabacteb and Tendencies of Romanism: 
being the sabstanoe of a Discourse delivered in Galena in 1852, 
by Rev. M. Sorin, Red Wing, Minn. Ter. 1854. 

The Tbue Thanksofving ; and True Manhood : Two Ser- 
mons, by H. M. Nichols, Pastor of the First Presbjrterian 
Church, Stillwater, Minn. Van Vorhes & Easton, Printers. 

1858. 12^ : pp. 40. 

[Rev. Mr. NloholB WM dxowned July, 1880, at Lake Harriet, near Bilnne- 
apoUB.'] 

HiCHAL ; OB Fashionable Dancing, an Undignified Amuse- 
ment for a Christian. The sixth of a Series of Evening Lec- 
tures on the Life of David, at the Chapel of the House of Hope, 
St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 6, 1859, by £dward D. Neill. St. Paul : 

1859. 12^ : pp. 18. 

Children, and the Childhood of Jesus. Sermon occasion- 
ed by the Death of Willie Young : Preached in the Jackson 
Street Methodist Church, on Sabbath afternoon, Feb. 27, 1859, 
by Bev. J. D. Pope, Pastor of the First Baptist Church. Pub- 
lished by the Family for Private Distribution. St. Paul : Min- 
nesotian Office. 1859. 8° : pp. 12. 

CoNOREOATioNALisx. A Sunday Morning Discourse, in the 
Plymouth Church of St. Paul, March 20, 1859. By Burdett 
Hart. St. Paul : T. M. Newson, Printer. 1859 : 8^ : pp. 18. 

Blood, the Pbice of Bedekption. A Thanksgiving Dis- 



56 MIHNESOTA HISrORICAL COLLECnOHS. 

course, delivered in the House of Hope, Nov. 27, 1862, by Rev. 
Frederic A. Noble, Pastor. St. Paul: Press Printing Ck>. 
1862. 8"" : pp. 21. 

The Fall of Sukfteb : Its Imtent akd Portsnt. An Ad- 
dress given at Plymouth Church, St. Paul, Sunday evening, 
April 12, 1868, the Anniversary of the Attack on Fort Sumpter. 
By Rev. S. Hawley. St. Paul : Press Printing Co. 1868. 
8° : pp. 18. 

The Final Salvation of all Manejnd, clearly demoxistrated 
by the united Voice of Reason and Revelation. By Rev. Dol- 
phus Skinner, D. D. Fourth Edition. Minneapolis: Atlas 
Pr. Co. 1864. 8°: pp.31. 

The Assubed and Globious Future of the Nation. A 
Thanksgiving Discourse, delivered in the House of Hope, Nov. 
24, 1864, by Rev. Frederic A. Noble. St. Paul, Minnesoto. 
" Ye shall be as the Wings of a Dove Covered with Silver." 
St. Paul : David Ramaley, Piinter. 1864. 8'' : pp. 28. 

A Sermon Preached at the Dedication of the First Presbyte- 
rian Church, Mankato, Minn., Sept. 7, 1865, by the. Pastor, 
Rev. Thomas Marshall. New York : Anson D. F. Randolph. 
1866. 8^ : pp. 23. 

The Papal Enctcligal, by the Rev. Thomas L. Grace, Bishop 
of St. Paul. Being a Pastoral Letter to the Clergy and Laity 
of the Diocese, on occasion of the Publication of the Jubilee. 
St. Paul : Pioneer Printing Company. 1865. 8** : pp. 29. 

Methodism : Its Development and the Chief Causes of its 
success. A Centenary Sermon, preached Sept. 21, 1866, before 
the Minnesota Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. By Rev. Jabez Brooks, A. M., President of Hamline 
University. Published by request of the Conference. St. 
Paul : Press Printing Co. 1866. 8° : pp. 24. 

Christian Amusements. A Discourse delivered Feb. 11, 
1866, at the Annual Meeting of the Young Men's Christian 
Association of Saint Paul, by Rev. Edwin Sidney Williams. 
St. Paul : Davidson & Hall, Pioneer Office. 1866. 8° : pp. 31 . 

Address to the Tenth Annual Convention of the Diocese 



BIBUOQRAPHT. 57 

of Minnesota, by Bt. Rev. Henry Benj. Whipple, D.D., Bishop 
of the Diocese. Jane 12, A. D. 1867. St. Paul : Bamaley & 
Hall. 1867. 8° : pp. 20. 

Christ, not Self, the Burden of Christian Preaching and 
LiYiNO. A Sermon preached in St. John's Chorch, St. Cloud, 
Minn*, Sept. 8, 1867, by Rev. George L. Chase, on resigning 
the Rectorship of the Parish. Published by request. St. 
Cloud, Minn. : Printed by A. J. Reed. 1867. 8° : pp. 14. 

A Review of a Sermon on the Immortalitt of the Soul, 
preached by W. B. Dada, before the Toung Men's Christian 
Association in Lake City, April 18, 1869, by A. G. Hudson. 
Lake City : Leader Office. 1869. S"" : pp. 18. 

Univeusalism Unmasked. A Sermon delivered by Rev. J. 
B. Tuttle, pastor of tlie Baptist Churdh of Anoka, Minnesota, 
on the evening of Feb. 14, 1869. Press Print. S"" : pp. 14. 

HidTORtCAL Sketch of the Westminster Presbyterian Church 
of Minneapolis, Minn., [a Sermon,] by Rev. Robert F. Sample, 
Pastor. Philadelphia : Printed by Alfred Martin. 1869. 8° : 
pp. 40. 

Natural Religion. By Rev. Herman Bisbee. A Sermon 
delivered at Pence Opera House, Minneapolis, Minn., March 
27, 1870. 8** : pp. 8. [No imprint.] 

Harmony op Gospel History. See " Poetical and Literary." 

Serving our Generation. A Sermon, Ac, See ^^ Biograph- 
ical." 

Anniversary Sermon of First Baptist Church, St. Paul. See 
'* Saint Paul." 

Hand Book of Presbyterian Church. See '^Churches," &c. 

Mission Papers of Bp. Seabury Mission. See ^* Churches," 
&c. 

Synod of Minnesota. Discourse by Rev. T. S. Williamson. 
6ee " Churches," Ac. 



8 



58 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

ORATIONS AND ADDRESSES. 
Address delivered by Ex-Governor Alexander Ramsey, Pres 
ident of the Minnesota Territorial Agricultural Society, on the 
occasion of the Second Annual Territorial Fair, held at Minne- 
apolis, on the 8th, 9th and 10th of October, 1856. St. Paul : 
Minnesotian Office. 1857. 8^ : pp. 22. 

Education in its Relations to Civilization. An Address 
delivered before the Convention of Superintendents at Winona, 
Minn., on June 28, 1865. By Wm. F. Phelps, A. M., Princi- 
pal of the State Normal School. 1865. Republican Print, 
Winona. 8" : pp. 34. 

The Problem of American Destiny. An Oration. Deliver- 
ed at a Celebration of the Grand Army of the Republic of the 
State of Minnesota, at Owatonna, July 4th, 1868. By Capt. 
Henry A. Castle, of St. Paul. Published b}- order of the G. 
A. R., Dept. of Minn. St. Paul : Office of the Press Printing 
Company. 1868. 8°: pp. 12. 

Oration delivered at Alexandria, Douglas Co., Minn., July 
4, 1868, by Hon. H. L. Gordon, of St. Cloud. Ramaley & 
Hall. Dispatch Office. 8°: pp.16. 

Addresses at the Inauguration of Wm. W. Folwell, as Pi-es- 
ident of the University of Minnesota, Wednesday, December 
22, 1869. For the University. Minneapolis : Tribune Print- 
ing Company. 1870. 8° : pp. 40. 

Emiorant Route to California, by Col. Wm. H. Nobles. 
See " Relations of Minnesota to the Northwest." 

Speech of Hon. Jaues Shields on the Pacific R. R. bill. 
See " Railroads." 

The Northern Pacific Railway. Speech of Hon. Wm. 
Windom. See " Railroads." 

Early History of Hennepin County, by John H. Stevens. 
See " Town and County History." 

Addresses at Dedication of Baldwin School. See ^' St. Paul." 

Masonic Installation and Dedication Addresses. See 
" Masonic." 



BIBLIOGUAPUY. 51) 



Addresses Befobe the Historical Society. By E. D. Neill, 
Gen. J. H. Simpson. Hon. Alex. Ramsey, Rev. S. R. Riggs, 
Gen. H. H. Sibley, Hon. J. W. Lynd, Rev. J. Mattocks, ami 
others. See Hist. Soc. Coll., Vols. I and II. 



POETICAL AND LITERARY. 

The Soknets of Shakspeare : An Essay, by Ignatius Don- 
nelly, A. M. Printed for private distribution. Saint Panl : 
Geo. W. Moore, Minnesotian Office. 8°: pp. 16. [1858.] 

The Poets and Poetry of Minkesota. Edited by Mrs* W. 
J. Arnold. Chicago: S. P. Rounds, Printer. 1864. 12°: 
pp. 336. lPortraU.'\ 

The.Dalys of Dalystown. By Dillon O'Brien. St. Paul : 
Pioneer Printing Company. 1866. 8° : pp. 518. 

Manomin : A Rhythmical Romance of Minnesota, the Great 
Rebellion and the Minnesota Massacres. By Myron Coloney. 
St. Louis : Published by the Author. 1866. 12° : pp. xv, 297. 

Harmony of the Gospel History, from Passion Week to 
Pentecost. By the Rev. Edward P. Gray. New York : H. B. 
Durand, 49 White Street. 1866. 8* : pp. 12. 

Gedichte Vermischten Inhalts, von Albert Wolff. St. 
Paul, Minn. 1867. 24** : pp. 80. 

[Poems written in the Qerman language.] 

Osseo, THE Spectre Chibftaik.^ A Poem. By Evender C. 
Kennedy. Leavenworth: Published by the Author. 1867. 
12^ : pp. 228. 

1 [The scene of this Epic is laid on Lake Pepin. The author says in his 
preface: "I offer this, my first endeavor as an anthor, to the pablic, hoping 
it may be received with favor ; and will be oontent if I receive trom my 
friends a kind thought in return for the many weary days and dreary nights 
I have spent trying to consummate this, my bloodless ambition. If I can be 
permitted to occupy the most secluded niche in the Temple of Caliiope, and 
add but a single Jewel to the casket of American Poetry, I will have gained 
the highest wish of my most ideal dreams. I entreat the favor of my many 
friends and fellow soldiers. I have a hope ; must it be a hope of despair ? I 
wait the revelations of the mysterious future."] 



GO MINNESOTA HI8T0UCAL COLLBCTIOKS. 

New American Epic Poem on the Discovery of America by 
Christopher Colambus. By M. D. C. Luby. Saint Paul, Minn. : 
Daily Minnesota Volksblatt Print. 1868. le"" : pp. 253. 

'^ Equal Rights.*' A Poetical Lecture. By Mrs. F. A. 
Logan, of New York. Price 20 cents. [St. Paul : Press Print. 
1869.] 12°: pp.22. 

Minnesota ; Then and Now. By Mrs. Harriet E. Bishop. 
Saint Paul : D. D. Merrill, Randall & Co. 1869. [7n verse.'} 
12*: pp. 100. 

The Romance of Indian Life. See <^ The Indian Tribes of 
Minnesota.'* 

A Summer in the Wilderness, &c. See '' Early Explora- 
tions," &c. 

The Hamline UNiYERsmr Magazine. See ^^ Magazines." 



MAGAZINES. 

The Minnesota Farmer and Gardener. Edited by L. M. 
Ford and J. H. Stevens. St. Paul: Vol. L Nov. 1860 to 
Dec. 1861. 8«»: pp.384. 

The Hamline Universiiy Magazine. ^^ Bdigio, LUera^ lA- 
bertas." Vol. 1, Nos. 1, 2, 3. S^: pp. 24, 32, 32. Printed 
for the University by D. Ramaley. 1864-65, 

The Minnesota Teacher and Journal of Education : Or- 
gan of the Department of Public Instruction and State Teach- 
ers' Association. W. W. Payne, Editor and publisher, St. 
Paul. 8**. Vol. I, June, 1867, to Aug., 1868, 556 pages ; Vol. 
II, Sept., 1868, to Sept., 1869, 448 pages. 

The Minnesota Monthly: A North Western Magazine. 
The Official Organ of the Patrons of Husbandry. Devoted to 
Agriculture, Horticulture, Domestic Economy, etc. Edited by 
D. A. Robertson. Vol. I, Jan. to Dec., 1869. Pp. 444. 



BifiLiooRArar. 61 

SAINT PAUL. 

Obdinakces of thr Town of Saint Paui., MnorfiSOTA. In 
force Jan. 25, 1852. Ck>Uated and Printed by Order of the 
President and Council of said Town. Saint Paul : D. A. Rob- 
ertson, Printer. 1852. S^ : pp. 24. 

Adjdbbsses delivered at the Dedication of the Edifice of the 
Preparatory Department of the Baldwin Schooly Saint Paul, 
Minnesota Territory ; and Catalogue for 18o3. Saint Paul : 
Owens & Moore, Printers. 1854. 8^ : pp. 39. 

Charter and Ordinances of the Crrr of St. Paul. Minne- 
sotian Oifice. 1855. 8"" : pp. 111. 

Do. 1858. Minnesotian Office. 8'' : pp. 250. 



-Do. 1863. Pioneer Office. 8° : pp. 226. 
- Do. 1869. Pioneer Office. 8° : pp. 352. 



Prooeedinos of the Common Council of the City of St. Paul 
for the years ending 1856 to 1870. 8°. v. d» 

Do. Greneral Index to. From 1854 to Jan. 19, 1858. 

Prepared by I. V. D. Heard, under Resolution of the Common 
Council, &c. Saint Paul : Pioneer Printing Co. 1866. 8*» : 
pp. 349. 

Annual Rfjport of the Public School System of the City of 
St. Paul ; with Rules and Regulations of the Board of Educa- 
tion, &c., &c. Saint Paul : 1856 to 1870. 12**. v. d. 

Suggestions relative to the Sewerage and Street Grades of 
Saint Paul. [^By James Starkey.'] Saint Paul: Goodrich, 
Somers & Co., Printers and Publishers, Pioneer and Democrat 
Office. 1857. 12** : pp. 24. 

Finances of Ramsey Countt. Report of a Committee of 
Investigation. 500 copies ordered printed by the Board of 
Supervisors. 1858. 

Grand Celebration in the City of jSaint Paul, the Capital of 
the State of Minnesota, on the first of September, 1858, com- 
memorative of the successful laying and working of the Atlan- 
tic Telegraph Cable. Full Report of tlie Ceremonies, Proces- 



02 MINNESOTA HISTTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

sions, Illamination and the Speeches of Ex-Govemors Ramsey 
and Gorman. Pablished by order of the City Conncil, as re- 
ported for the Daily Minnesotian, the official paper of the City, 
[by J. F. Williams,'] St. Paul: Daily Minnesotian Print. 

1858. 8*^: pp. 22. 

Maiojal of the First Baptist Chnrch of Saint Paul, Minne- 
sota, 1857-8 ; with the Annual Sermon of the Pastor [Rev. 
Jno. D. Pope.'] Published by the Members. Saint Paul: 
Printed by Geo. W. Moore, Minnesotian Office. 1859. 8®: 
pp. 16. 

First Aknual Repobt of the Treasurer of the Saint Paul 
Gas Light Company, to the Stockholders of the Company, to- 
gether with the Act of Incorporation and By-Laws. St. Paul : 
Pioneer Printing Company. 1859. 8®: pp.31. 

Constitution and Bt-Laws, and Heading Room Regulations 
of the Saint Paul Mercantile Library Association. Adopted 
September, 1857. Revised Jan., 1859. Incorporated Jan., 

1859. Saint Paul : Pi*inted by Geo. W. Moore, Minnesotian 
Office. 1859. 8°: pp. 15. 

Catalogue of the Sundaj^-School Library of the Central 
Presbyterian Church, Saint Paul. St. Paul : Pioneer Printing 
Co. 1858. 12**: pp. 20. 

Catalogue of the St. Paul Library Association. 1864. St. 
Paul : Printed by D. Ramaley. 8*» : pp. 79. 

Do. 1868. Ramaley & Hall. 8^ : pp. 99. 

Saint Paul Street Railway Compant. Charter and City 
Ordinance. Saint Paul: Daily Minnesota Volksblatt Print. 
18G8. 8° : pp. 9. 

Thi!: Earlt History of Saint Paul. Being a short sketch 
prepared for Bailey's Saint Paul Directory. Edition of 1867. 
[Separately printed,] By J. Fletcher Williams, Secretary of 
the Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn. 1867. 8° : 
pp. 12. [2 cuts.] 

Chamber of Commerce op the Cnr of Saimt Paul. Arti- 
cles of Incorporation, By-Laws, Officers, Committees and Mem- 



BIBLIOORAPHT. 63 

bers. Oi^anized Jan. 10, 1867. St. Paul, Minnesota : Press 
Printing Company. 1867. 8** : pp. 18. 

Do. First Annual Report, [By J. D. Ludden^'] for 



1867. St. Paul : Press Printing Company. 1868. 8°: pp.35. 
Do. Second Annual Report, \_By J, D. Ludden^'] made 



Jan. 25, 1869. Also, Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, Offi- 
cers, and List of Members. Saint Paul : Press Printing' Co. 
1869. 8*^ : pp. 82. 

Do. Third Annual Report. By Ossian E. Dodge, 

Secretary. St. Paul : Press Printing Co. 1870. 8*" : pp. 51. 

Bcsnnsss Directobt for the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota 
Territory. Aug. 1, 1856. Saint Paul: Goodrich & Somers, 
Printers, Pioneer and Democrat Office. 1856. 8** : pp. 76. 

Saint Paul Citt Dibectory, fob 1856-7. Published by 
Goodrich <& Somers ; January, 1857. Saint Paul : Pioneer and 
Democrat Office. 1857. 12°: pp. 194. ^Map of City. TJiia 
book was compiled by Andrew Keiller,'] 

Commercial Advertiser Directory for the City of St. Paul, 
to which is added, a Business Directory, 1858-1859. Newson 
& Barton, Publishers. Saint Paul : Times Office. 1858. 8'' : 
pp. 165. 

A. Bailey's Saint Paul Directory, for 1863. Volume One. 
Saint Paul : A. Bailey, Publisher. 1863. 8* : pp. 170. 

Saiht Paul Directory for 1864. Including a complete 
Directoiy of the Citizens, a Business Directory, etc. Volume 
Two. Saint Paul: Groff & Bailey, Publishers. 1864. 8*: 
pp. 170. 

McClung's Saint Paul Directory, and Statistical Record, 
for 1866. Containing an Alphabetical List of Citizens in each 
Ward separately, etc. St. Paul : J. W. McClung, Publisher. 
1866. 8^ : pp. 284. 

Saint Paul Directory for 1867. * * * Vol. 3. Saint 
Paul; Bailey & Wolfe, Publishers. 1867. 8** : pp. 287. 

Ketchum and Crawford's St. Paul Directory, for 1869. 



64 MIKNESOTA HISrORIOAL COLLECTIOX8. 

* * * Also, a complete Classified Business Directory, &c. 
St Paul : Printed by the Press Printing Co. [1869.] 8^ : pp. 
271. [Map.] 

Rice & Bell's First Annual Dikbc^rt to the Inhabitants, 
Institutions, d;c., <&c., in the City of Saint Paul, for 1869-70. 
Bice & Bell, Publishers, St. Paul. [1869.] 8'': pp. 800. 
[Map.] 

Hand Book of Presbxterian Church. See '* Churches," &c. 

. Christ's Church Orphan's Home. See ^' Churches," &c. 

Installation Address to St. Paul Lodge, No. 8. See 
** Masonic." 

Baldwin School, and Female Seminary Catalogues. See 
" Catalogues." 

Carver Centenary. See Histor. Soc. Coll. ^ 

Memorial of Chamber of Commerce, &c. See ^^ Relations 
of Minnesota to the North West." 

Rise and Progress of Minnesota Terrttort. See ^^ Histo- 
rical, Descriptive," &c. 

Dakota Land ; or the Beauty of St. Paul. See '' Historical, 
Descriptive," Ac. 



STATE DOCUMENTS. 

Journal of the Counch. of the Legislative Assembly of the 
Territory of Minnesota. 1849-1857. 8^. v. d. 

Journal of the House of Representatives of the Legisla- 
tive Assembly of the Territory of Miunesota. 1849-1857. 
8°. V. d. 

Acts, Joint Resolutions and Memorials passed by the Leg- 
islative Assembly of the Territory of Minnesota. 1849-1857. 
8**. V. d. 

Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention 
for the Territory of Minnesota, to form a State Constitution, 



BIBLIOGRAPHT. 65 

etc. T. F. AndrewB, Official Reporter t« the Convention. 
St. Paul : G. W. Moore, Printer. 1858. 8° : pp. 624. [B«- 
pubUcan TFin^.] 

The Debates and Proceedings of the Minnesota Constitn- 
tional Convention, inclading the Organic Act of the Territory, 
etc. Reported Officially by Flraacis H. Smith. Saint Paul : 
£. 8. Goodrich, Territorial Printer. 1857. 8^: pp. 685. 
[DemocraJtic WingJ] 

JouBNAL OF THE CoNSTiTunoNAL CONVENTION of the Territory 
of Minnesota, [^Democratic Wing^'] begun and held in the City 
of St. Paul, Capital of said Territory, on Monday, the 18th of 
July, 1857. St. Paul : Earle S. Goodrich, State Printer. 1857. 
89 : pp. 208. 

Journal of the Senate of the Legislature of the State of 
Minnesota. 1858-1870. 8"^. v. d. 

Journal of the House of Representattvss of the State of 
MinnesoU. 1858-1870. 8^. v. d. 

General and Special Laws of the State •f Minnesota. 1858- 
1870. 8°. V. d. 

ErBcunvB Documents of the State of Minnesota. 1860- 
1870. 8*. V. d. 

The Leoislative Manual, compiled for the use of the Mem- 
bers of the Legislature. Published by authority. 1860-1870. 
V. d. 

Annual Report of the Ac^utant General of the State of 
Minnesota, for the year ending Dec. 1, 1866, and of the Mili- 
tary forces of the State from 1861 to 1866. Saint Paul : Pio- 
neer Printing Company. 1866. 8^ : pp. 805. 

A Complete Compilation of the Laws of Minnesota, relat- 
ing to Township Organization, and the duties of Town Officers, 
etc. By Eiyah M. Haines. Chicago : 1869. 8"^ : pp. 272. 

Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme 
Court of MinnesoU. IS vols. 8''. St. Paul. 1858-1870. v. d. 

— Harvey Officer, Reporter. Vols. I-IX. 

— Wm. A. Spencer, Reporter. Vols. X-XIII. 

9 



66 minnesota historical collections. 

The Revised Statl^tes of the Territory of Minnesota, 
passed at the 2d session of the Legislative Assembly, com- 
mencing Jan. 1, 1851. Under the Supervision of M. S. Wilk- 
inson. Saint Paul : James M. Goodhue, Territorial Printer. 
Rl. 8° : pp. 734. 

Do. Edition of 1859. Rl. 8^: pp. 1071. Pioneer 

Printing Co., St. Paul. 1859. 

Do. Revision of 1866. Rl. 8'' : pp. 874. Davidson 

^ HaU. 1867. 



MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 

Habfbrs' New MomnHLT Magazimb. Vols. 1 to 88. New 
York. 

PAPBBS ON MINNESOTA. 

Vol. VII, p. 177. Sketches Of the Upper Missiasippl. Anon. 
" XIII, p. 065. AVlsittoRedRlyer. Anon. 
*' XVI, p. 448. The Upper Miflsissippi. Anon. 
" XVIII, p. 168. The INBQple of the Red River. Anon. 
" do. p. 602. The Red River Trail. Anon. 
" XIX, p. 87, The Bed River Trail. Anon. 

XXI, p. 280. To Bed River and Beyond. By Manton Marble. 



u 

•• do. p. 681. " *\ " " " 



M 
41 



XXU, p.806. " " " " 

XXVI, p. 186. Hole-in-the-Day. By I. G. Nicolay. 

XXVII, p. 1. The Indian Maasaores and War of 1862. Adrian J. EbeU. 
3CXVIII, p. 76. Overland £rom 8t. Paul to Lake Superior. Anon. 

do. p. 190. The Wlieat Fields of BiUnneeota. By O. W. Sohatzel. 
XXXVI, p. 400. The Minnesota Pineries. By J. M. Tattle. 



COLLECTIONS OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

VOLUME I. 

1. Annals of the IVIinnesota Historical Soceett. Saint 
Paul : Printed by James M. Goodhue. 1850. S"" : pp. 82. 

i^ifMrv. Preftkoe; Act of Incorporation ; Oonstitntion and By-Laws, adopt- 
ed Jan. 14, 1860; List of Members; Annual Address by Rey. E. D. Neill, Jan. 
1, 1850, Sabject— " An Introdnctory Lecture upon the Subject of the French 
Voyageurs to this Territory during the Seyenteenth Century." Description 
of Minnesota, by H. H. Sibley ; Table of Distances in the Territory. 

2. Annals of thb Minnesota Historical Societt, for the 
year A. D. 1850-1 ; comprising an address by the President, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 67 

the Annual Report by the Secretary, two papers by Rev. S. R. >^ 
Riggs, &c., &o. St. Paul: t). A. Robertson, Printer. 1851. • 
SP : pp. 184. 

Biptn, Pioceedlngs of tlie Annual Meeting, Jan. 18, 1851; AddrMB of Got. 
A. Bamsey, ProBldent of the Boolety ; First Annual Report of C. K. Bmlth, 
Secretary of the Boolety, with appendices ; Speech of Henry H. Sibley, of 
Minnesota, belore the Com. on Elections of the House of Representatlyes, 
Dec. 22, 1848; List of the Kzecutive and Judicial Officers of the Territory, and 
Members of the First Leglatore ; Titles of Acts passed at the First Session of 
the Legislature ; List of Officers appointed by the Ooyemor of said Territory; 
Da of the different counties ; Time of holding the Oourts of Minnesota Ter. ; 
Indian Tribes of Minnesota; Description of Saint Paul, and other points In 
the Territory ; First Navigation of the Minnesota by Steamboats, CJnne,l860;] 
Fort Bnelllng ; List of Post Offices and Post Masters in Minnesota; Landing 
Points for BteamlKMbts firom Galena to St. Paul ; The Census ; Schools and Edu- , 
cation in Minnesota ; The Fruits and Roots of the Minnesota Valley ; Laying 
of the Comer Stone of the Episcopal Church ; Unlyersity of Minnesota at the 
Falls of St. Anthony; Religious Movements in Minnesota; Table of Steam- 
boat Arrivals, etc., at Fort Snelllng for the past six years; The Dakota Na- 
tion—Address of Rev. S. B. Rlggs ; Prospectus for Publishing a DfUcota Lexi- 
con ; A Memoir on the History and Physical Geography of Minnesota, by H. 
R. Schoolcraft ; the Meteorology of Minnesota, by J. W. Bond ; Letter of Prof. 
Mather, of Ohio; Index. 

3. Annals of the Minnesota Historical Society, 1852 ; 
containing the Annual Address by J. H. Simpson, First Lieut., 
Corps, U. S. Topographical Engineers, and other papers. Pub- 
lished by order of the Executive Council. St. Paul : Owens 
& Moore, Printers, Minnesotian Office. 8^ : pp. 64. 

Paptrt. Secretary's Annaal Report; Annaal Address by Lient. Simpson— 
'* Narratlye of a Tonr throagh the Navi^o Country ;" Letter of Mesnard, writ- 
ten oh the eve of his Embarkation for Lake Saperior; Ancient Monuments ; 
Iowa Indians and Mounds; Letter from. Mr. J. F. Alton on the Stone Heaps 
at Red Wing ; The Early Nomenclature of Minnesota ; Minnesota, its Name 
and Origin; Saint Louis River, by Bev. T. M. Fullerton ; Sketch of the Early ^ 
Indian Trade and Traders of Minnesota, by E. D. NelU; Exploring Tonr, by 
Rev. W. T. Boutwell; Battle of Lake Pokegama, by "an eye witness;" 
Wa-kan-Tlbi ; Grant of Land at the Gaye in Dayton's Bluff. 

4. Annals of the Minnesota Historical Soccbtt, for eigh- 
teen hundred and fifty-three : Number IV. Printed by order 
of the Executive Council. Saint Paul: Owens & Moore, 
Printers. 1853. 8^ : pp. 72. 

Fap0rt. Officers of the Society for 1858 ; Annual Report of Secretary ; Sketch 
of the Life of NlcoUet, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley ; Sketch of Joseph Benyllle ; 
Department of Hudson Bay, by Hev. O. A. Belcourt ; Mounds of the Minne- 
sota Valley, by Rey. 8. B. Rlggs ; Obituary Notice of James M. Qoodhue, late 
Editor of the Pioneer ; Notes Supplementary to the Early Indian Trade, Ac, 
(Annals of 1862 ;) Description of Mille Lacs, by J. G. Norwood, IC. D.; Dakota 
Land and Dakota Life, by Edward D. Nelll ; The Meteorology of Minnesota, 
by John W. Bond. 



68 minnesota historical collbcnons. 

5. Materials for the Fdture History of Minnesota; 
being a Report of the Mmnesota Historical Society to the Leg- 
islative Assembly, in accordance with a Joint Resolution. 
Fifteen hundred copies ordered to be printed for the use of the 
Legislature. St. Paul : Joseph R. Brown, Territorial Printer. 

7^ Pioneer and Democrat Office. 1896. 8** : pp. 142- [7 illus- 

trations.] 

Contmttt, Introdnetoiy Chapter, on Nomenolatare; Who were the first 
Menr by Bey. T. S. Wmiamaon; An Historical Review [Reprint of the Ad- 
dress of Gov. Ramsey In 1861 ;] Early Notices of the Dakotas, by Edward D. 
NeiU ; Loois Hennepin, the Franciscan ; Slenr Dn Lath ; Le Snenr, the Ex- 
plorer of the IClnnesota River; Abstract of the Memorial of D'lberviUe, on 
the Ck>antry of the Mississippi ; Minnesota as a British Dominion— Explora- 
tions of Jonathan Carver; British Trade in Minnesota; Pike's Explorations 
in 1806; American Trade; Noted Early Indian Traders ; FortSnelling; Border 
Life in Minnesota, by Wm. J. SneUlng ; Index. 

6. Address delivered before the Minnesota Historical So- 
ciety, at its Sixth Anniversary, Feb. Ist, 1856, by the Hon. 
H. H. Sibley. 8° : pp. 17. 

[Total nomber of jiages in Vol. 1, 611.] - '" 

VOLUME n. 

1. VoTAGE IN A Six-Oared Skiff to the Falls of Saint An- 
thony in 1817. By Major Stephen H. Long, Topographical 
Engineer, United States Army. With introductory note by 
Edward D. Neill, Secretary Minnesota Historical Society. 
Philadelphia: Henry B. Ashmead, Book and Job Printer. 

1860. 8° : pp. 88. 

OonimU, Offlcers of tbe Society ; Introdnotory Note ; Jonmal ; Appendix ; 
Map ; Letter from A. J. HIU; Tftble of Distances, to. 

2. Collections of the Minnssota Historical Socibtt, for 
the year 1864. Saint Paul : David Ramaley, Printer. 1865. 
8** : pp. 84. 

CbmUmU, Offloers of the Society; Introdnotory; Early French Forts and 
Foot Prints of the Valley of the Upper Mississippi, by £. D. NelU; Ooour- 
renoes in and around Fort Snelling, f^om 1819 to 1840, by E. D. Neill; History 
of the Dakotas-^ames W. Lsmd's lianuscrlptB, by Rev. B. R. Biggs; the Re- 
ligion of the Dakotas— (Chapter VI, of Mr. Lynd^s Manuscript). 

8. Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, for 
the year 1867. Saint Paul: Pioneer Printing Company. 1867. 

8* : pp. 62. 

Oontmti, Offloers of the Society ; List of Papers ; Report of the Committee 
of Publication ; Annual Report of the Secretary, Chas. £. Mayo ; Mineral Re- 
gions of Iiake Superior, as known flrom their first discovery to 1865, by H. M. 
Rice; CoDBtantlne Beltrami, by A. J. Hill ; Historical Notes of the U. a Land 



filBUOORAJPHY. 69 

Offlee,l7H.M.Rioe,0t.PMil; The Geographj of Parrot, so liftr m It relfttes to 
MInneaota and the xegioiui Immediately adjacent, by A. J. Hill ; Dakota 8u- 
penlltloina, by Rev. G. H. Pond. 

4. The Carter CsirnENAfiT: An Acooant of the Celebration, 
by the Minnesota Historical Society, of the One Hundredth 
Anniversary of the Council and Treaty of Capt. Jonathan 
Carver with the Naudowessies, on May 1, 1767, at the *^ Great 
Caye" (now within the limits of the City of Saint Fanl, Minne- 
sota,) held May 1, 1867. Saint Paol : Pioneer Printing Com- 
pany. 1867. 8^ : pp. 23. With portrait of Carver. 

(hmUnU. Prefiftoe; The Visit to the Cave; Deaorlptlon of the Cave; The 
Proceedings at the Oaye; The Reonlon In the Evening; Fmper, by Rev. Jno. 
Matftocin, on tho '* Life and Explorations of Jonathan oiucrer/' 

5. Charter, CoNSxirunoN^ akd Bt-Laws of the Minnesota 
Historical Society. '' Lnx e Tenebris.'' Saint Paul : Ramaley 
& Hall, Printers. 1868. 8"* : pp. 11. 

[Total number of pages In Vol. II, 288.] 

Charter, CoNSTmrnoN, Bt-Laws and Catalogue of Members 
of the Minnesota Historical Society. KDOOOLvn. Saint Paul : 
Goodrich, Somers & Co., Printers. 1857. 12<' : pp. 48. 



INDEX OF AUTHORS. 
A. 

« 

Aldrich, Hok. Ctrus— Report on Nor. Pacific R. R. 

Akdxbson, Dr. C. L. (and T. M. Griffith}— Survey of portion of 

Upper Mississippi River. 
Akdrews, C. C. — Minnesota and Dakota. 
Andrews, T. F.— Ofllclal Report of the Constitutional Convention 

Debates. [Republican.] 
Arhold, Mbs. W. J.— The Poets and Poetry of Minnesota. 

B. 

Baxlet, a.— Minnesota Gazetteer, &c. 
Barton, Wm. H.— Saint Paul Directory, 1869. 
Bill. J. B.— Saint Paul City Directoiy, 1869. 
BxLTBAMi, C— A Pilgrimage in Europe and America. 

La Decouverte des Sources de Mississippi. 
BxsBSB, Rry. Hxbmak— Natural Religion. A Sermon. 



1. Adopted Januuy 90, 1868. 



70 MINNESOTA HI8T0BICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Bishop, Hbs. Habbibt E.— Floral Home. 

The Dakota War Whoop. 

Minnesota, Then and Now. 
Bishop, J. W.— History of Fillmore County. 
Blanchard, Rufus— Hand Book of Minnesota. 
Bond, J. Wesley — Minnesota and its Resonrces. 
Brbmbr, Frbdebika— The Homes of the New World. 
Brooks, Bev. Jabez— Methodism, a Centenary Sermon. 
Bryant, Chas. S., (and A. B. Murch)— History of the Sioox Massacre. 
Burritt, E. H. — Journal of Capt. Fiske's Expedition. 

c. 

Carver, Jonathan— Travels through the Interior Parts of North 

America, &c. 
Catlin, OEOROB—Indians of North America. 
Castle, Henry A.— The Problem of American Destiny. 
Chamberlain, H. E. — St. Anthony and Minneapolis Directory. 
Charlevoix, F. X. — History of New France. 
Chase, Rev. Geo. L. — Christ, not Self. A Sermon. 
Chatfield, a. G. — Opinion in the Hastings Land Site Case. 
Child, James E.— Waseca County, ftc. 
Chittenden, N. H.— Stranger's Guide to Minneapolis. 
Coffin, C. C— The Great Commercial Prize. 

The Seat of Empire. 
CoLBtJRN, Mary J.— Minnesota as a Home for Emigrants. 
CoLEsoN, Ann— Narrative of Indian Captivity. 
CoLONEY, M. — Manomin ; a Rhythmical Romance. 
Combs, Wm. S.— Revised Journal of Masonic Grand Lodge. 
Crawford, I. D. — (See Ketchum, Ac,) 

D. 

DuTURNBLL, J.— Tourlsts' Guide to the Upper Mississippi. 
Dodge, 0. E.— St. Paul Chamber of Commerce Report, 1870. 
Donnelly, Ignatius— Minnesota; an Address, &c. 

The Sonnets of Shakspeare ; an Essay. 
Du Pratz, Le Page— History of Lonlsiaua. 



I 



E. 



EASTLiCKy Mrs. Lavina— Narrative of Indian Captivity. 
Eastman, Mrs. Mary H.— Dahcotah; or Life and Legends, 4c. 

The Romance of Indian Life. 
Bbell, Adrian J.— The Indian Massacres of 1862. (Harpers' Mag.) 
Edwards, Richard— Gazetteer of the Mississippi River. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 71 

F. 

Fkatherstonhaugh, G. W. — Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor. 
F18KB, Capt. J. L.— Report 00 Ms Ist and 2d trips to Idabo. 
FoLWELL, William W.— Inaagnnil Address at State UniTersity. 
FoBD, L. M. — Minnesota Fanner and Gardener. 
Frsngh, B. F.— Histor. Coll. of La. and Fla. 
FsiNK, F. W.— A Record of Bice County, &c. 

G. 

Gale, Gbobok— Upper Mississippi. 

Gordon, H. L.— Foortli of Jaly Oration. 

Grace, Bt. Rev. T. L.— The Papal Encyclical. 

Gray, Bey. Bdward P.— Harmony of the Gospel History. 

Griffith, T. M.— (See Anderson, C. L.) 

Gribwold, Wm. B.— Mankato; and Blue Earth County. 

H. 

Haimbs, £. M.— Compilation of Minnesota Laws. 
Hall, James— Notes upon the Geology, Ac, of Minnesota. 
Hankins, H.— Dakota Land ; or Beaoty of St. Paul. 
Hart, Rev. Burdett— Congregationalism. A Sermon. 

The New North- West. 
Hawlbt, Rev. S.^Tho Fall of Sompter. 
Heard, I. Y. D.—History of the Sionx War. 

Index to Common Coancll Proceedings, &c. 
Heaton, Hon. B.— Mannfkctores and Trade of the Upper Mississippi. 
Hennepin, L.— New Discovery of a Great Coontry, &c. 
Hewitt, G. — Minnesota; Its Advantages to Settlers. 
Hinman, Rev. S. D.— Calvary Catechism in Dakota. 

Prayer Book translated into Dakota. 
Hymns translated into Dakota. 
Hudson, A. G.— Review of a Sermon on Immortality . 

J. 

JameS) Dr. Edwin—- Tanner's Narrative of Captivity. 
Johnson, Edwin F. — Report on Nor. Pacific R. R. 

K. 

Keahno, Wm. H.— Expedition to Soorces of the St. Peters River. 
TTmrTint, ANDREW—Dlrectory of St. Paul, 1857. 
B^ENNEDT, £. C. — Osseo, the Spectre Chieftain. 
Kbtchum, F. a., (and Crawford)— St. Paul Directory, 1869. 
Kloos, J. H.— Dutch Immigration Pamphlet. 

Rapport yan Ingenieur, &c. 



72 MIMNRSOTA BISTORICAI, COLLBCTIOMS. 

La Hontan, Bakon— New Voyages to North America. 

Lander, Fbxd. W.— Report of a R. R. Reconoolsance, Ac 

LAmiAN, Chab.— A Sommer In the Wilderness. 

Latrobk, C. J.^The Rambler in North America. 

LxA, Albbbt M.— Notes on Wisconsin Territory. 

Lb Duo, W. G.— BCinnesota Tear Books, 1861-2-^. 

LiSTBO, SoBBN— Scandinavian Immigration Pamphlet. 

LooAN, Mrs. F. A.— Eqnal Rights, &c* 

Lombard, C. W.— History of 8d Minnesota Regiment. 

Long, Maj. S. H.— Voyage in a siz-oared SkiH^ Ac 

LCbt, M. D. C— The Colnmblad. 

Luddbn, Jno. D.—- St. Paul Chamber of Commerce Reports* lS€S-4^. 

M. 

Marblb, Manton— To Red River and Beyond, (Harpers' Mag.) 
Marwhat.t>, Wm. R. (and others)— Statement on Resoorces of N.F.R*R. 
Marsh JkLT,, Rhv. Thomas— Dedication Sermon— Mankato. 
Mattson, Hon. H.— Scandinavian Immigration Pamphlets. 
McCoNKBT, Mrs. H. £. B.— (See Bishop, Mrs. H. E.) 
McClung, J. W.— Saint Paul Directory, 1666. 

Minnesota a9 it Is in 1869. 
Merwin, Hkman — Minnesota Business Directory. 
MrrcHKLLy W. H.— History of Olmsted County. 

History of Steel County. 

History of Hennepin County. 

History of Goodhue Coun^. 

History of Dakota County. 
MuNsoN, A D.— Rise and Progress of Minnesota Territory. 
MuRCH, A. B.— (See Bryant, C. S.) 

N. 

Nbll, Rsv. E. D.— Dahkotah Land and Dahkotah Life. 

History of Minnesota. 

Michal ; or Fashionable Dancing. 

Hand Book of the Presbyterian Church. 

Effort and Failure to Civilize the Aborigines. 
Nichols, Rrv. H. M.— True Thanksgiving; and True Manhood. 
NicoLAT, J. G.—Hole-in-the-Day— (Harpers' Mag.) 
NicoLLKT, J. N.— Hydrographical Basin of Upper BCIsslsslppL 
NoBLB, Rev. F. A.— Blood, the Price of Redemption. 

The Assured and Glorious Future of the Nation. 
Nobles, Col. Wm. H.— Speech on Emigrant^ute, Ac 



BIBLIOGIUPHT. 78 

O. 

O'BRncN, Dillon— The Dalys of Dalystowo. 
OFncER, Hartkt — Vols. I-D[, Supreme Court ReporU. 
Oliphant, Laurknck— Minnesota uid the Far West. 
Owen, Datid Dalk — Geological Sarvey of BClnnesota. 

R 

Parker, Nathan- H. — The BClnnesota Hand Book, 1856-7. 

Parkman, Francis— The Discovery of the Great West. 

Payne, W. W.— The Minnesota Teacher. 

Pblz, Edward— German Immigration Documents, 

Perrot, Nicolas— Memoir on the Manners, &c., of the Indians. 

Phelps, Wm. F.— Educational Address. 

PiERSON, A. T. C— Masonic Installation Addresses. 

Lodge of Sorrow Ceremony. 
Pike, Z. M.— Exploration of the Upper Mississippi. 
Pond, Bey. G. H.— Dakota School Books. 
Pond, Bey. S. W.— Translations of Works into Dakota, 
Pope, Capt. John— Exploration of Minnesota Territory. 
Pope, Bbv. Jno. D. — Childi*en and the Childhood of Jesus. 

Anniversary Sermon, &c. 
PusET, Psnnock— Statistics of Minnesota^ 1870. 

R. 

Ramsey, Hon. Alex.— Address at 2d Territorial Fair. 
Ravoux, Bbv. A.— Path to Heaven, (Dakota). 
Kawlings, T.— Emigration, with special reference to Minnesota. 
Reno, Capt. J. L. — Survey of a Road Arom Mendota to the Big Sioux. 
Renville, John B.— Translations into Dakota. 
Renville, Joseph— Translations into Dakota. 
Rice, G. J., (and Bell)— St. Paul Directory, 1869. 
RiGOS, Mrs. M. A. C— English and Dakota Dictionary. 
RiGGS, Rev. Stephen R.— Grammar and Dictionary of the Dakota 

Language. 

Translations and Works in Dakota. 

Tah-Koo-Wah Kan, or Gospel among the 
Dakotas. 
RiTz, Phiup— Letter on the new route, (to the Pacific). 
Robertson, D. A. — The Minnesota Monthly. 
Rosa, Gabrielb— Life of Constantine Beltrami. 

S. 

Sample, Rev. R. T.— Historical Sketch of Westminster Presb. Ch. 

Schatzel, G. W.-— The Wheat Fields of Minnesoti^-rHarper's Mag.) 
10 



74 MINNESOTA HISrORICAL COLLKCTIONS. 

ScHOOLCRAirr, H. B.— Indian Tribes of the United States. 

Narrative of Travels fVom Detroit, N. W., &c. 

Narrative of an Expedition to Itasca Lake In 
1820. 

Summary of an Expedition to Itasca Lake In 

1882. 

Thirty years' residence with the Indian Tribes. 

Seymour, E. S.— Sketches of Minnesota; theN.E. of the West. 

Shaw, E. P.—MlnneapoUs Directory. 

Shea, John G.— Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi. 

Early Voyages up and down the Mississippi. 

Shields, Hon. James— Speech on Pacific Railroad Bill. 

Skinner, Rev. D.— The Final Salvation of all Mankind. 

Smith, Hon. A. C— Masonic Installation Address. 

Smith, Francis H.— Official Report of Constitutional Convention, 

(Democratic Wing.) 

Smith, W. R.— Minnesota as a Home for Immigrants. 

SoRiN, Rev. M. — Political Character of Romanism. 

Spencer, Wm. A.— Vols. X to XIII, Supreme Court Reports. 

Starkey, JAMES—Suggestlons as to Sewerage &c., In St. Paul. 

Stevkns, Isaac I.— Northern Pacific R. R. Survey, Vol. XII. 

Letter on Northern Pacific Route. 

Stevens, Rev. J. D.— Dakota Spelling Book. 

Stevens, Jno. H. — Early History of Hennepin County. 

Stone, Rev. Geo. M. — Life of Dr. John D. Ford. 

Storey, W. D. — A view of Saint Anthony Falls. 

Sweetzer, Chas. H. — Tourist's and Invalid's Guide to the N. W. 

T. 

Taylor, Jas. W.— The Railroad System of Minnesota. 

North- West British America. 

The Sioux War ; What shall we do with it? 

The Sioux War; Campaign of 1868. 
Tuttlb, Rev. J. B. — Unlversalism Unmasked. 
Tuttle, J. M. — The Minnesota Pineries. 

V. 

Van Inobn, Rev. J. V. — Memorial, <&c., on Church Foundation. 

w. 

Wakefield, Mrs. Sarah F. — Six weeks in the Sioux Teepes. 
Warren, Gen. G. K. — Reports on Survey of Upper Mississippi. 

Physical Features of the Upper Miss. Valley. 
Weeks, Mrs. Helen C— -White and Red. 
Wheblock, Jos. A. — Minnesota; Its Place among the States. 

Minnesota; Its Progress and Capabilities. 
Whiffle, Bt. Bav. H. B.— Address to the 10th Convention, &c. 



BIBLIOORAPHY. 7d 

Whittlbsst, CHAS.~Geolog7 and Minerals. 

Wilkinson, M. S.— Revised Statutes of 1851. 

WiLLASD, J. A.— Bloe Earth Co. ; its Advantages, &c. 

Williams, Rbv. Edwin Sn>NST~Christian Amusements. A Sermon. 

Williams, J. F. — Carver Centenary. 

Early History of St. Paul. 

Reports of Historical Society, 1868-9-70. 

Tlie Minnesota Guide. 

Atlantic Cable Celebration, St. Paul. 
Williamson, Rbv. T. S.— Translations into Dakota. 

Discourse before Synod of Minnesota. 
Williamson, John P.— Dakota School Books, etc. 
WiNDOM, Wm.— Speech on Nor. Pac. R. R. Bill. 
Winston, T. B.— Minnesota—a bundle of facts, &c. 
Wolff, Albkbt— Gedlchte Vermischten Inhalts. 
WoLFB, J. M.— Winona Directory. 
Wooi>s, Maj. S.— Pembina Settlement, &c. 



*«* The fbregoing article was completed February, 1170, and inclndes onlr 
books Iflnied up to ibat time. 



A REMINISCENCE OF FT. SNELLING. 



BY MRS. CHABLOTTE O. VAN CLBVE. 



Like the old man in Dickkns' '' Child's Story/' ^^ I am always 
remembering : come and remember with me." 

I close my eyes and recall an evening some forty-two years 
ago, when, in one of the stone houses near Fort Snelling, 
which was oar home at that time, a pleasant company of ofScers 
and their families were spending a social evening with my 
parents. The doors were thrown open, for the weather was 
warm, and one of the officers, Capt. bnuoER,^ was walking on 
the piazza, when we were all startled by the sound of rapid 
firing very near us. The captain rushed into the house, much 
agitated, exclaiming, ^'That bullet almost grazed my ear!" 
What could it mean : were the Indians surrounding us? 

Soon the loud yells and shrieks from the Indian camp near 
our house made it evident that the treaty of peace, made that 
afternoon between the Sioux and Chippewas, had ended, as all 
those treaties did, in treachery and bloodshed. The principal 
men of the two nations had met at the Indian Agency, and, in 
the presence of Maj. Taliafebro,^ their '^ White Father,*' had 



1. Capt. Wm. E. Cbugkb was a native of New York, and gradnated at 
West Point in 1819. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant of the Fifth 
Infantry on July 12, 1820; and promoted to First Lieatenant, June, VBSAi 
A^Jatant in 1827; and Captain In October, 1888. He resigned under cirenm- 
stanoes derogatory to his character, on Oct. 81, 1886, and died soon after in 
New York, where he had sunk to poverty and obscurity .~W. 

2. Lawrshce Taliavkbbo was bom in Virginia, Feb. 28, 1794; enlisted in 
war ori812, at age of 16; rose to the rank of First Lieutenant; and at close 
of war was retained, with that rank, in the regular service. In 1819 resigned, 
and was appointed Indian Agent at "Saint Peter's," which post he held 21 
years, by successive reappointments, until January, 1810, when he resigned. 
He is now XT. 8. Military Storekeeper at Bedford, Pa..— W. 



A BBIOHISCENCE OF FORT BNfiLLlNO. 77 

•made a solemn treaty of peace. In the evening, at the wigwam 
of the Chippewa chief, they had ratified this treaty by smoking 
the pipe of peace together ; and then, before the smoke of the 
emblematic pipe had cleared away, the treacherous Sioux had 
gone out and deliberately fired into the wigwam, killing and 
wounding several of th^ unsuspecting inmates. The Chippewas 
of course returned the fire, and this was what had startled us 
all and broken up the pleasant little gathering at my father's^ 
house. 

The Chippewas sought refbge and protection with their 
wounded within the walls of the fort, commanded at that time 
by Col. JosiAH Skkllhyg,' for whom it was named. They were 

1. Miy. Nathah Clabk was bom In May, 1789, near Woroester, ICaas. He 
entered the service as a Second Lieutenant In the 87th Infuitry In 181S. 
After serring with honor In the war, he was retained at Its doee, and 
appointed in the regular army, being assigned to the Fifth Infantry. He was 
stationed on reoralting service some time at Hartford, Conn., where he 
became acquainted with and married, in 1816, Miss Ohablottb Aim Sstmoob, 
daughter of Thomas Sxtxoub of that city. After about two years of service 
at various posts, ]C%|. Cx«abx returned to Hartford, whence he was, in 1119, 
ordered to Join his regiment at Detroit, at which place it rendezvoused, 
previous to coming to St. Peter's (Mendota.) The march Ax>m Detroit to 
Prairie du Ohien, through a wilderness, was one of hardship, especially to 
the ladies who accompanied the regiment. On arriving at Prairie du Ohien, 
Mrs. Yah Glevs, the authoress of this iiketch, was born, on July 1, 1819. 
After a little stay at Prairie du Chlen, Mi^. Clark and his family proceeded 
to St. Peter's, which was their home for nearly eight years. Mai, Clxmk was, 
during this period, commissary of the post. In 1827 he was ordered to Fort 
Crawford, and after remaining there several months, was sent to Kashville 
on recruiting service. While at this post, the family became acquainted 
with Oen. Jacksoii, then running for President (1 888. ) Some interesting remi- 
niscences of " Old Hickory," as he was called at that period, were contributed 
by Mrs. Vah Ci.kve to Partom's Life of Jacksou, Vol. Ill, p. 169. MaJ. Ci.arx 
was next stationed at Smlthland, Ky., and then at Oinoinnatl, where his 
family resided some three or four years. Meantime, he commanded Fort 
Howard during the Black Hawk War, and was Joined by his fkmily in 1888, 
at Fort Winnebago. Wis. M%| . Clark died at that post, of disease induced by 
exposure and frontier service, on Feb. 18, 1886. His remains now repose in 
Spring Orove Cemetery, at Cincinnati. His widow, Mrs. Oharlotb A. Qlabk, 
still survives, with faculties unimpaired by age. Her memory, and that of 
her daughter, Mrs. Vah Cleve, is a storehouse of the most entertaining and 
valuable historical reminiscences of early days in the Northwest, most of 
which have never been recorded. I am glad to add, that on a recent visit to 
Mrs. Vah CiiEVE, I found her engaged in writing up copious memoirs of the 
days of half a century ago, and secured a promise to have them placed, 
when completed, at the disposal of this Society .^W. 

2. Col. JosiAH Snblijiio was bom in Massachusetts in 1782. He was' com- 
missioned First Lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry in 1868, Regimental 
Paymaster in April, 1809, and promoted to a Captaincy in June following. 
Breveted MivJor for gallantry at Brownstown in August, 1812. In April, 1818, 



78 HiinrasoTA historical collechons. 

kindly cared for, and the wounded were tenderly nursed in 
our hospital. One, a little girl, daughter of the chief, excited 
much sympathy, and I cannot forget the interest I felt in her, 
for she was but a year or two older than myself, and it seemed 
to me so cruel to ruthlessly put out her young life. I remember 
the ladies of the fort were very kind and tender to her, and since 
I have had little girls of my own, I know why. She lingered 
but a few days, in great agony, and then God took her out of 
her pain to that land where the poor little, wandering, wounded 
child should know sin or suffering no more. 

Meanwhile our colonel, a prompt and efScient officer, 
demanded of the Sioux the murderers, and in a very few days, 
a body of Sioux were seen advancing towards the fort, as was 
supposed, to deliver up the criminals. Two companies of 
soldiers were sent to meet them and receive the murderers at 
their hands. Strange to say, although they had the men, they 
refhsed to give them up. Our interpreter, I cannot recall his 
name, stepped out from among our soldiers, and said : 

^' If you do not yield up these men peaceably, then, as many 
leaves as there are on these trees, as many blades of giass as 
you see beneath your feet, so many white men will come upon 
you, bum your villages, and destroy your nation." 

was appointed Aflslatant Inspector General, and In February, 1848, oom- 
mlMioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Fourth Rifles. He served with honor 
at the battles of Tippecanoe, Magiiaga, and Lyons Creek, and other eugage- 
ments In the war of 1812, and at Its close was retained as Lieutenant 
Colonel of the Sixth Infantry. He was promoted to Colonel of the Fifth 
Inliantry In 1819. The Fifth Infistntiy was ordered •to St. Peter's (Mendota) 
in February of that year, and In August, 1820, Col. Sneluho arrived, took 
command of tbe post, and In September commenced to build " Fort St. 
Anthony." It was completed for occupancy Iti the fall of 1822. In 18S4, 
Gen. Scott visited and inspected it. At his recommendation, the War 
Department changed the name to "Fort Bnelllng," in honor of its builder. 
In the summer of 1827, the Fifth Regiment was ordered to Jeirerson Barracks. 
Ool. SmLLtno proceeded to Washington on official business, and while there 
was seized with Inflammation of the brain and died on August 28th. Col. 
SraitUifO had two sons who have been eminent. Wm. Joseph SiiEiiLiMQ was 
an author of ability, and wrote a book entiUed: "TaUt of th4 Nprthw^nt; or, 
SttMiM of Indian L^fe and Charaoter. By a Resident beyond the Frontier." 
(Boston, 1880.) Oatlin speaks in unbounded praise of the work as a faithful 
plcthre of Indian Life. The author, a man of genius, but unfortunate habits, 
died In Massachusetts in 1848, aged 44 years. The other son of Col. SmBLLnra, 
James G. B. BraujirG, entered the army and served with distinction in the 
Mexican War. The widow of Col. Smellino is still living In Cincinnati, O., 
at an advanced age. having remarried after the colonel's death.-»W. 



A R£1IINISC£NC£ OF PORT SMELLING. 79 

A few moments' consideration, a few hurried words of con- 
saltation, and the guilty men were handed over to our troops. 
The tribe followed as they were taken into the fort, and making 
a small fire within the walls, the condemned marched round and 
round it, singing their death songs, and then were given up to 
be put in irons and held in custody until time should determine 
how many lives should pay the forfeit, for it is well known that 
Indian revenge is literally a life for a life^ and the colonel had 
decided to give them into the hands of the ii^ured tribe to do 
with them as they would. 

Some weeks passed and it was found that five lives were to 
be paid for in kind. A council of Chippewas decided that the 
five selected from the prisoners should run the gauntlet, and 
the decision was approved. 

Back over the lapse of these many years I pass and seem to 
be a child again, standing beside my only brother^ at the back 
door of my father's house. 

The day is beautifhl, the sun is so bright, the grass so green, 
all nature so smiling, it is hard to realize what is going on over 
yonder by the graveyard, in that crowd of inen and women. 
For there are gathered together of the Chippewas, old and 
young men, women and children, who have come out to witness 
or take part in this act of retributive justice. There are blue 
coats too, and various badges of our U. S. uniform, for it is 
necessary to throw some restraint around these red men, or 
there may be wholesale murder ; and, borne on the shoulders 
of his young men, we see the form^of the wounded, dying chief, 
regarding all with calm satisfaction, and no doubt happy in the 
thought that his death, so near, will not go unavenged. And 
there stand the young braves who have been selected as 
the executioners: their rifles are loaded, the locks carefhlly 
examined, and all is ready when the word shall be given. 

• — — — " — •■ ■ _ I . 

i. MAiiCOui CI.ABK was the only son of MaJ . Kathan Olark. He was bom at 
Fort Wayne, Ind. (where his father was temporarily stationed) in 1817. His 
entire life was passed on the frontier— his early boyhood at Fort Snelllng— 
and he became a proficient In several Indian tongues, and thoroughly 
acquainted with savage life and customs, ultimately becoming allied to them 
by marriage. He had many thrilling adventures during his long residence 
with the Indians, and after innumerable escapes finally met his death at the 
hands of the Blackfeet Indians, at his trading post near Helena, Montana 
Territory, Aug. 18, 1860, aged nearly 68 years.^W. 



80 MINMKSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIONS. 

There too, under guard, are the five men who are to pay the 
forfeit for the five lives taken so wantonly and treacherously. 

Away off, I cannot tell how many rods, but it seems to us 
children a long run^ are stationed the Sioux tribe, and that is 
the goal for which the wretched men must run for their lives. 

And now all seems ready; and we stand on tiptoe, while 
the balls and chains are knocked off and the captives are set 
f^ee. At a word one of the doomed men starts, the rifles with 
unerring aim are fired, and under cover of the smoke a man falls 
dead. They reload, the word is given, another starts with a 
bound for home; but ah ! the aim of those clear-sighted, blood- 
thirsty red men is too deadly ; and so one after another until 
four are down. ^ 

And then the last, ^' Little Six" — whom at that distance, we 
children readily recognize, from his commanding height and 
graceftd form ; he is our friend, and we hope he will get Jiome. 
He starts, — ^they fire, — the smoke clears away and still he is 
running, — we clap our hands, and say ^^ he will get home ; " 
but another volley and our favorite, almost at the goal, springs 
into the air and comes down — dead ! I cover my face and shed 
tears of real sorrow for our friend. And now follows a scene 
that beggars description. The bodies, all warm and limp, are 
dragged to the brow of the hill. Men who at the sight of 
blood, become almost fiends, tear off the reeking scalps and 
hand them to the chief, who hangs them around his neck. 
Women and children with tomahawks and knives cut deep 
gashes in the poor dead bodies, and scooping up the hot blood 
with their hands, eagerly drink it ; then, grown frantic, the}' 
dance, and yell, and sing their horrid scalp songs, recounting 
deeds of valor on the part of their brave men, and telling off 
the Sioux scalps, taken in different battles, until tired and 
satiated at last with their horrid feast, they leave the mutilated 
bodies — ^festering in the sun. 

At nightfall they are thrown over the bluff into the river» 
and my brother and myself, awe struck and quiet, trace their 
hideous voyage down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. 
We lie awake that night talking of the dreadfld sight we have 
seen, and we try to imagine what the people in New Orleans 
will think when they see those ghastly upturned faces ; — and 



A BEMIinSCINCS OF FOBT 8MBLLINO. 81 

we talk with quivermg lips and tearful eyes of " Little Six," 
and of the many kind things he has done for as, the bows and 
arrows, the mocauks of sugar, the pretty beaded moccasins, he 
has given us : and we wish, oh ! we wish, he could have run 
faster, or that the Chippewa rifles had missed fire. And we 
sleep and dream of scalps, and rifles, and war whoops, and 
fHghtfhl yells, and wake, wishing it had all been a dream. 

Next day the dying chief sat up in bed, painted himself for 
death, sang his death song, and with those flve fresh, bloody 
scalps about his neck lay down and died, calmly and peace- 
fhlly, in the comfortable hope, no doubt, of a welcome in those 
" happy hunting grounds," prepared by the " Grood Spirit," for 
aU those Indians who are faithful to their Mends, and avenge 
themselves upon their foes. 

A few years ago I told this story to another ^* Little Six," 
*' Old Shakopee," as he lay, with gyves upon his legs, in our 
guard house at Fort Snelling, awaiting execution, for almost 
numberless cold-blooded murders, perpetrated during the dread- 
ftal massacre of '62. He remembered it all, and his wicked old 
face lighted up with joy as he told me he was the son of that 
'^ Little Six" who made so brave a run for his life; and he 
showed as much pride and pleasure in listening to the recital 
of his father's treacherous conduct, as the children of our great 
generals will do some day, as they read or hear of deeds of 
bravery or daring that their fathers have done. 

Saint Anthony, 1869. 



11 



NARRATIVE OF PAUL MAZAKOOTEMANE. 



TRANSLATED BT REV. 8. B. BIQ08. 



The Declaration -of Paul IfAZAKOOTEKAmBy of the Dakota 
People. 

I desire that the American people, who are my friends, 
should listen to this my personal narrative.^ 

I was bom an Indian, and consequently I did not know to 
distingoish between the good and the bad. I followed the 
Dakota customs alone, — and this I did until I was twenty-nine 
years eld. Then the American sacred men came among my 
people and commenced to teiEU^h them. But I did not under- 
stand, and I thought if I should give my attention to it for 
ten years, I should still not understand it. But when I had 
learned to put two or three letters together, I began to com- 
prehend the writing, from which I pit^essed until I was able 
to read a little. Then I began to read the sacred writing, but I 
did not still know that the great Grod would have mercy on me. 

By and by I came to know this, and then the sacred writing 
showed me that for all my past evil deeds I must die. After- 
wards came the conviction that I was even now dead, but the 
great God was merciful and had given His Son only B^otten 
to die for us ; and He had died for sin, that through his suffer- 
ings we might live. So the question came up, ^' What shall I 
do to be saved?" and morning and night I sought by prayer 
to know how I could be saved. 

1. Mr. RiGOS ttys in a note aooomponylng this paper: '*I received this 
personal narrative of Pauii, written by hlnuelf In the Dakota Langnage. 
Among other things, U giim an Uuide vimo of the lots SUmm outbreak, 5y a 
loyal Dakota inaiik. I think, therefore, it will be valoable." The MS. of Paui. 
is written in a neat and eoholarly manner.— W. 



/ 



NABRATiyX OF PAUL MAZAKOOTEMANS. 83 

Alter a while the great God my Father wrought in me great 
thankagiying, and made me a member and an office-bearer in 
his church. Thos the good Grod brought to us wild men the 
way of life ; and now the gospel has taken root and will grow 
among the Indians. For this we give great thanks. 

Then the moored men who came to us, counselled me and told x 
me to put off my Dakota clothes and be like a white man : to ^ 
cut off my hair and put on white man's clothes. This I thought 
was good advice, and I acted in accordance therewith. With a 
good number of my friends I changed my dress. Nearly forty 
of us at one time cut off our hair and put on the white man's 
dress and formed ourselves into a separate community, of which 
they elected me chief; and our separate band was at once 
recognized by the agent, MaJ. Mubfht. This was in 1856. 
The agent was well pleased with our onward movement, and 
said, ^' K all the Dakotas would do so it would be well.'' It 
was well. I liked it. 

The next year Inkpadoota (Scarlet Point) killed a great 
many white people. And as I now considered myself a white 
man, my heart was sad for this thing. At this time-Mig. 
FLAiiBRAu was agent. He called the Dakotas together ; and 
when all the people had come, he asked them to go and rescue 
the women captives who were in the hands of Inkpadoota* 
My heart was-real bad about it, and I said I would seek them. 
I went and searched for them, and after twenty days I succeeded 
in bringing home Miss Abbe Gardner, the only remaining cap- 
tive. We took her down immediately to St. Paul and delivered 
her to the Grovemor. ^^ You are a brave man, and you have 
done a great deed. You have accomplished a great, good work 
through your bravery," he said to me. He said also he would 
write about it to the Great Father, who would like it also. 

For this I gave thanks to the great Grod. I said, <^ Gk>d, 
my Father, thou hast manifested thy mercy, and by this good 
work, thou hast made me glad, in that thou hast enabled me to 
do this good thing." 

The year following this, four of the Leaf Villagers and four 
of the Sisseton Band were invited to go to see the Great Father. 
I was one of the delegation. They took us on, and we reached 
Washington in about a month. We went to the Great Father's 



84 MimfEflOTA HISTORICAL OOLLECIIOIIS. 

house and shook hands with him, when he said to me, " Paul 
Mazakooteicane, I bless your name. When yon go home, tell 
yoar people to follow the white man*s castoms alone." So 
when I returned I counselled my people according to the words 
of our Great Father. We planted larger fields, for the great 
Grod had mercy on us. We bailt also two sacred houses 
(churches) in my country. And when the chiefs of the Leaf 
and Marsh Villagers talked with the white people, they made 
me their spokesman. So I asked my Father the great Grod to 
give me wisdom, and I think he granted it to me. 

Then suddenly came the outbreak of the Lower Indians (the 
Mdawakontonwans.) I heard they were fighting with the white 
people ; and I hastened to the mission station at Hazelwood to 
keep my sacred men from being killed. By night and by day I 
guarded them. My young men were few, but we did a good 
work in saving the lives of all the mission families. In this I 
thought the good Lord had mercy on me, and I gave thanks. 
I said, '' O God, my Father, thou hast shown to me thy favor, 
in that thou hast enabled me to save alive my friends." 
^ This was in 1862. Then we were alone with the Dakotas ; 
and I saw no opening for good. But I did not forget the word 
of the great God my Father, and I think He led me to a strong 
purpose. 

As I went from tent to tent in the Dakota camp I saw a great 
many white women and children captives. On that account 
my heart was very sad, and I became almost sick. I considered 
what I could do to save these captives. And He who is mer- 
cifhl and strong helped me, and in answer to my prayers gave 
me strength. So I went into the assembly of all the Dakota 
braves, and I said to them, ^^ If you will give me leave in your 
council, I will speak to you of a certain matter." They gave 
me leave to speak. Then I stood up and said, '' When this 
people in times past have assembled in council I have been 
their speaker ; but that time is past. I want to speak now to 
yon of what is in my own heart. Give me all these white cap- 
tives. I will deliver them up to their friends. Tou Dakotas 
are numerous — ^you can afford to give these captives to me, and 
I will go with them to the white people. Then, if you want to 
fight, when yon see the white soldiers coming to fight, fight 



VABRAnVM OF ^AUL MAZAKOOTKMAKE. 85 

with them, but don't fight with women and children. Or stop 
lighting. The Americans are a great people. They have much 
lead, powder, guns, and provisions. Stop fighting, and now 
gather up all the captives and give them to me. No one who 
fights w^th the white people ever becomes rich, or remains two 
days in one place, but is always fieeing and starving. Yon 
have said that whoever talks in this way shall not live — ^tliat 
you will kill him. Stop talking in that way, and if any one 
says what is good, listen to it." 

Then White Lodge's 8on,who is called '^Stbixs thbPawnbbs," 
arose and said, '' If we are to die, these captives shall die with 
us" — and to this they all said " Yes." 

I then returned home and made a great feast myself, tox^ 
which I invited more than two hundred men. YThen they came 
together I again demanded the captives, and made a long 
speech. They had said they would fight the Americans and 
make Mends with the British. To this I answered. " When 
you say you will fight the Americans and attach yourselves 
firmly to the British, you say what is not true. Forsake then 
your evil doings, for the British will dislike every one who is 
wicked and disobedient, even though he be a white man. This y 
is my thought : listen to it, and deliver up to me the captives." /^ 

Then Rattling Bumkeb, one of the chief braves said to me, 
^*The braves say they will not give you the captives. The 
Mdawakontonwans are men, and therefore as long as one of 
them lives they will not stop pointing their guns at the Ameri- 



cans." 



Next to him a man who is called The Thukdeb that makes 
ITSELF BLUE Said to mc, " Although we shall die bravely, and 
though the captives die in the way, I don't care. Don't men- 
tion the captives any more." 

When they had said these things, they arose and departed, 
and as they went home they sang a soldier's song : — 

" Over the earth I come ; 
Over the earth I come; 

A soldier I come; 
Over the earth I am a ghost." 

This is the song they sang. I disliked it very much ; and 
although my young men were few, I said to them, ^' Take your 



/ 



86 MDQIBSOTA HISTOBICAL OOLLBCnOMS. 

gans; this people have wrought a great wickedness which I 
will cat in two." So they took up their guns. I then gathered 
all the horses and wagons that had been taken from the half 
breeds and restored them to them. Then I called especially 
upon my jfriends among the Sissetons. After this I invited the 
Sissetons and the Mdawankontons all — ^and on the one side 
were Sissetons, and on the other side the Mdawakontons. I 
took my stand in the midst. They said they would kill me ; 
but as I wished to die in the midst of a great multitude, I 
spoke thus : ^^ Sissetons, the Mdawakontons have made war 
upon the white people, and have now fled up here. I have 
asked them why they did this, but I do not yet understand it. 
I have asked them to do me a favor, but they have refhsed. 
Now I will ask them again in your hearing. Mdawakontons, 
why have you made war on the white people? The Americans 
have given us money, food, clothing, ploughs, powder, tobacco, 
guns, knives, and all things by which we might live well ; and 
they have nourished us even like a father his children. Why 
then have you made war upon them ? You did not tell me yon 
were going to fight with the white people ; and how then should 
I approve it? No, I will go over to the white people. If they 
wish it they may kill me. If they don't wish to kill me, I shall 
live. So, all of you who do not want to fight with the white 
people, come over to me. I have now one hundred men. We 
are going over to the white people. Deliver up to me the 
captives. And as many of you as don't wish to fight with the 
whites, gather yourselves together to-day and come to me— all 
of you who are willing." 

Having said these things to them, I removed my tent out to 
one side, the same day. Then His Thunder, who had Mr. 
Spsnceb, one of the captives, came and pitched his tent by 
mine. And all who valued the friendship of the Americans 
came also— such as SmoN and Lobenzo of the Wahpetons. 
Also two Sissetons, viz., Wamdisumtankjl (Great-tailed Eagle) 
and Hatokisna (Hayoka alone.) These were both good men, 
and each had a captive boy ; but they took care of them as 
their own children. The captive that Great-tailed Eagle 
had was without clothes* He sold a horse and bought clothes 



MABBATIVE OP PAUL MAZAKOOTKMANB. 87 

and dressed op the captive boy very well. And I thought he 
did a good deed. 

After this they gathered up the captives and gave them to 
me. And now Gen. Siblbt came with his army. I remained 
at oar camp near the month of the Chippewa, while a great 
part of the Dakotas fled. When the white troops came near, 
I raised a white flag. €ren. Sdlet came on and encamped 
near me, and so I shook hands with him and with all the officers. 
Then I said, ^' I have grown up like a child of yours. With 
what is yours, you have caused me to grow ; and now I take 
your hand as a child takes the hand of his father. My hand 
is not bad. With a clean hand I take your hand. I know 
whence this blessing cometh. I have regarded all white people 
as my Mends, and from this I understand this blessing has 
come. This is a goed work we do to-day, whereof I am glad. 
Yes, before the great God I am glad." 

Gen. SiBLET said to me, ^^ This is good. Hencefbrth I will 
take you into my service." Since that I and my children have 
lived well. And ftom that time more than ever I have regarded 
myself as a white man, and I have counselled my boys accor- 
dingly. 

There was then a fort built at the head of the Coteau des 
Prairies ; and the officer in command made known the will of 
the Great Father. He said that all the Dakotas who wished 
for good might come to the head of the Coteau and live. 
^^ Come, come," he said to the Dakotas, ^^ the Great Father is 
mercifhl, and will have mercy on any one who is needy." This 
he said giving them the invitation. Then all the men who 
wished for the friendship of the white people came in, and 
with their people desired good* These are the chief men — 
Wasukits, Wamnahize, Wasuicitapa, Waxdisuhtanka, Ibakitb 
and HuPACOKAMAZA. These first shook hands with the white 
people and desired that they and their children might live. 

I talked with these men, and said to them, '* Why did you 
flee? Ton were not implicated in the war of the Lower Sioux 
with the white people. What did you fear, that you fled and 
did not come back for a long time? " 

They said, ''Indeed we knew that the Americans were fluious, 



88 MINKBSOTA HISfOBIOAL COLLSCTIOHB. 

and therefore we fled. Bat now onr Great Father says we may 
live, and therefore we have come back." 

I went with them to see the commanding officer of the fort, 
with whom they had a talk. He said to them, *^ The Great 
Father has commanded me to invite all the Indians to come 
back who do not want to fight. The Great Father wishes to 
have no more fighting ; therefore he has commanded me to call 
in all the Indians, and he says yon shall do no more fighting." 
To this they said " Yes." 

Then Gbeat-tailed Eagle, one of the Dakota chiefs, stood 
op and said, ^' The guns, and the tobacco, and the lead, and 
the knives which we have are all made by the Americans. If 
we fight the Americans we most use these things that we have 
of them, to fight with. Therefore we dislike the fighting. By 
the help of the Americans we live ; and we do not wish to fight 
the Americans with the things they have made. I desire only 
that which is good, and therefore I have come to shake hands 
with you that I may live." 

To this the commanding officer replied, ^' You have spoken 
well. Before the snow comes, I will send your name to the 
Great Father." 

The Hail that strikes rrsELF, another Dakota chief, said, 
^^ Shall one who is a chief seek what is bad? I am a chief, and 
therefore I seek only the good." 

To this the officer replied, "Yes, yon speak well. Your 
Great Father seeks only that which is good/' 

After these words, when winter was coming on, another 
Dakota chief came in — ^this was Scarlet £aglb Tail and his 
people. Seven chiefs and their people were now here. 

About this time the commanding officer employed them as 
scouts, and every Dakota that they saw, who came to the r^on 
of Fort Wadsworth on the war path, they killed. In all they 
killed thirteen. So the rebellion was stopped, and all the 
people desired to return to what was good. 

During this time I was in the employ of the military and had 
charge of carrpng the mails. A letter came to me which said, 
" We are going to Washington ; if you wish you shall go along ; 
if you don't wish to go you shall not go." But as the principal 
Dakota men were not going, I did not go. I said, " The Great 



KARHATIVE OF PAHL MAZAKOOTKMANE. S^J 

Father has been in the habit of calling the chief men. Why 
now has he not called the chiefs? Why has he not called one 
good man?*' 

When they had been to see the Great Father and returned, 
I heard them say that the Great Father had given as the 
country at the head of the Coteau. And I said to them, ^' I 
am glad that our Great Father has given us this country to be 
ours ; so that here we may be the people of our Great Father 
— that in this land we may make known the sacred writings^^ 
that every one of us us may have our own sacred hook — that 
each man may have one wife — and that we may cease to hold 
the Dakota customs, but each one marry his wife, and thus the 
sacred brotherhood may grow." 

I thought they all desired this. Moreover while I was absent 
the Dakotas all came together and said, '' Since we desire to 
have a good community, we will make a good and believing 
man head chief." They said they would elect him for two 
years, and if he did well he should remain in for four years. 
But if he did not well they would put him out, although he 
had not been in one year. On this platform they chose Sixov 
Anawantmane. 

Then Bishop Whipple and Dr. Daniels came up with provi- 
sions and clothing. The Dakota people were glad. At that 
time HuPACOKAUAZA, one of the chiefs, stood up and said, 
^* We Dakotas have made a head chief, of which I tell you." 
But the Bishop said, '< No, I will talk with the one whom your 
Great Father has made chief." 

The Dakotas wondered who it was he meant. Then Gabriel 
Remtille stood up and talked with him. But the Dakota men 
said, *^ We are Dakotas, and it is not fit that a white man 
should be our chief. We want to have a chief from among 
ourselves. The Americans are wise — why did they do this 
without our knowledge ? Behind Gabriel Renyille there are 
four others who were made chiefs. Why did the Americans do 
this without our consent?" I heard these things said. 

Then the blankets were given out. But to a part they gave 

no blankets. They gave only to those who had cut timber. 

And when to only a part of the people provisions were given 

by the braves, the sa^yred ^nan said, ^^ I have sercy upon them 
12 



90 MINNESOTA BI8TORICAL COLLBCTION8. 

and will give them a portion." But then four Dakota head 
men said, ^^ These provisions are ours, and we alone will have 
them." Then the sacred man's heart was sad. When he saw 
the poverty and want of the Dakotas his heart was sad. 

My heart also was sad on this account ; and when I con- 
sidered the hard times they would meet with this winter, and 
with what difficulty they would reach the spring, I went into 
their assembly and talked to them. I said, ^' The sacred man 
was mercifiil, but you did not do well. As the holy Jesus 
came to this earth and was mercifhl, so it is good that all men 
should have mercy one upon another. But you have not done 
well. Nevertheless, trust in the great God. If our Great 
Father gives the Dakotas only what he has sent by the hands 
of Bishop Whipple, he will have done well. But the Dakota 
chiefs have not done well. This I know." 

And now my friends of the great American people, I am 
fifty-eiglU years old when I write this which you hear. 

My friends of the Great Nation, one and all, I shake hands 

with you. 

Paul, 
March 19, 1869. 



MEMOIR OF EX-GOV. HENRY A. SWIFT. 



BY J. F. W. 



HEincT Adonirax Swift was born Id Ravenna, Ohio, March 
23, 1828, and was the second son of Dr. Isaac Swift and 
Mrs. Eliza (Thoxpsok) Swift, both of whom were among the 
early settlers of Ohio. The former, who has now reached the 
venerable age of eighty years, was a native of Cornwall, Litch- 
field County, Conn., and came to Ohio in 1815. Mrs. Swift 
was born in Stockbridge, Mass., and came to Ohio with her 
parents in 1814. The youth of Ex-Gov. Swift was one of 
unusual promise, which was well fulfilled by his maturer years. 
After a course of academic study, he entered Western Reserve 
College, at Hudson, O., and graduated about the 3^ear 1842, 
with high honors in his class. He spent the next winter in 
Mississippi, as a teacher. The events of his residence in that 
State were such as to give him an abhorrence for the ^'accursed 
institution," and ever afterwards during his life he conscien- 
tiously labored for its overthrow. Indeed, at one time ho 
became obnoxious to parties in the neighborhood on account of 
his fk'ee-soil views, and his life was threatened, but he returned 
safely to his former home. He at once began the study of law 
in the office of Messrs. Tilden & Raknet, Ravenna, and in 
October, 1845, was admitted to practice. The winter of 1846-7 
he passed at Columbus, as Assistant Gerk of the House of 
Representatives. The succeeding winters of 1847-8 and 1848-9 
he also passed at Columbus, being chosen Chief Clerk of the 
House, for the sessions of those years. In this position he 
acquitted himself well, and especially during the protracted 
dead-lock in the House at the opening of the Session of Decern 



92 ximrESOTA historical oollectiovs. 

ber, 1848, over the election of speaker, an important and 
delicate duty devolved upon the clerk, and in this matter that 
officer so bore himself as to receive the approbation and confi- 
dence of the entire body. 

In September, 1851, Mr. Swift was married to Miss Bum 
Livingston, of Gettysborg, Pa. He now devoted his time 
assiduously to his. profession, and the affairs of the Portage 
Farmer's Insurance Company, of which he was secretaiy. In 
1853, however, feeling anxious to have a more extended field 
for his abilities, he resolved to emigrate to Minnesota. Placing 
all his worldly effects upon a steamboat at Pittsburg, with his 
wife and infant daughter, he made the entire trip by river, 
landing at St. Paul, then a town of a few hundred inhabitants, 
early in the spring of 1853. Here he at once opened an office 
as a real estate ayd insurance agent, and soon after built a resi- 
dence on College Avenue, now occupied by E. S. Edgeston, £sq. 

He remained a resident of St. Paul about three years, 
devoting all his abilities in various ways to the good of the 
young commonwealth in which he had made his home. In 
1856 he sold his St. Paul property and invested his means in 
the '^ Saint Peter Company," which had laid out a new town of 
that name, then coming into notice, though as yet almost with- 
out population. The town grew very rapidly during the next 
two years, however, and his investments proved quite profitable. 
The crash of 1857 almost wrecked him, (as it did all other 
extensive, land owners,) but by prudent manageuicnt he finally 
recovered ft*om the shock, and before his death had again placed 
himself in easy circumstances. The early years of his residence 
at St. Peter were years of hardship and privation incident to 
frontier life, but he bore them ail patiently. He threw his 
whole energy into the task of building up and benefitting the 
town in every way possible, and lived to see it grow from the 
little hamlet to a fiourishing busy city, and himself become 
almost *^ the idol of the community," so universally was he 
beloved and esteemed. 

Gov. Swift first came prominently before the people of 
Minnesota in the fall of 1857, when he was a candidate for 
Congress, during a heated and exciting canvass. He appeared 
frequently on the stump, and gained much admiration even 



KEMOIR OF ix-GOT. HBNRT A. SWIFT. 98 

from his opponents, for his clear and comprehensive statements 
of the political issues of the hour, and his fair, candid, and 
dignified treatment of the opposite party. In debate he was 
eloquent, logical, and conclusive, despising all clap-trap and 
the usual tricks of demagogue^y. Gov. Swift's party were not 
successful in the campaign, but he won the respect of all who 
met him, and stood higher at its close than before. 

In the fall of 1861, Gov. Swift was elected from his district 
a member of the State Senate, and served during the two 
sessions of 1862 and 1863. One who was associated with him 
as a fellow member says : ^^ He was always courteous, genial, 
and manly — as carefld of the rights of others as he was jealous 
of his own. He never addressed the Senate, except when 
important matters were under discussion, but then his matter 
and manner impressed every listener with a profound conviction 
of his earnestness." Most acceptably and ably he represented 
his district during these two sessions, and not the people of his 
district merely, but of the whole State, for he ever labored 
faithflilly for its welfare, and many of the measures of those 
sessions bear the impress of his watchfVil care and anxiety to 
advance the prosperity of the State. 

When the terrible news of the Indian massacre reached St. 
Peter, on Aug. 18, 1862, Grov. Swift was one of the party that 
promptly formed and marched to the relief of the town of New 
Ulm, about 30 miles distant. They arrived there the next day 
about noon, in time to repulse the Indians after a hot action. 
Gov. Swift was also in the battle of Aug. 28d, and acted with 
conspicuous coolness and bravery. Mr. Brtant says, in bis 
History of the Massacre : 

^'At one time H. A. Swift went up on the side of the first 
table land adjoining the town, to make observations, when he 
was fired upon from a log building only a few rods off, which 
was full of Indians. He instantly dropped down behind a 
slight elevation of ground. While lying there, Indian balls 
plowed up the ground all around him. During this time Judge 
Flandrau and S. A. Bukll came dashing up on horseback, 
and but for the timely warning of Mr. Swnrr, both would, un- 
doubtedly, have been shot, as they were not aware of the near 
proximity of the savages." 



94 icnnnBSOTA bistorical coLLEcnoNS. 

He remained in the town doing what he could for its defence, 
nntil it was abandoned, and all the inhabitants and property 
removed. He was everywhere active in assisting the poor 
fugitives who had fled from the marderous savages and sought 
refoge in the town — ^many of them wounded and sick, and to 
the wants of the latter he personally ministered, assisting the 
needy liberally from his own purse. One who knew him well 
has written : " He shouldered his musket and took his turn at 
guard duty at night in the midst of rain and exposure to which 
he was wholly unaccustomed. It brought upon him a disease, 
from the effects of which liis delicate constitution never re- 
covered. He sacrificed his life for others, and is as truly a 
victim of the Sioux War, as if he had fallen before an Indian 
bullet in the battle of New Ulm." 

During the second term of his service in the State Senate, 
Lieutenant-Grovemor Donnelly resigned his seat, having been 
elected Congressman, his term commencing March 4th, 1863. 
On March 5th, Grov. Swift was elected by the Senate to fill the 
vacancy. Gov. Alex. Ramsey having been elected as U. S. 
Senator during the same session, resigned the Goyemorship 
during the following month, and Gov. Swift being his legal 
successor, was installed in the gubernatorial chair, thus- by 
rapid promotion assuming the chief office of the commonwealth 
for the balance of the term. 

The following summer, when the matter of the incumbent of 
the next term was agitated, he was strongly urged to accept 
the nomination. This he firmly declined to do, as it would 
require either a protracted absence from his domestic circle, 
which he loved so well, or a residence in St. Paul, for which 
the salary of Governor was inadequate. He did, however, at 
the solicitation of his fellow citizens of St. Peter, consent to 
run again for Senator from that district, and was re-elected for 
the sessions of 1864 and 1865, both of which he attended, and 
" did the State some service " on important and responsible 
committees. 

During the session of 1865, a United States Senator was 
chosen, and £x-Gov. Swift was urged to be a candidate for this 
position, but with bis instinctive delicacy and modesty, he 
shrank from entering the lists, as he knew there were many 



MEMOIR OV EX-GOV. MENBT A. 6WIPT. 95 

unpleasant daties connected with the position in the scramble 
for office where he would be expected to satisfy all, and only 
incur the enmity of many. He finally yielded to the impor- 
tonities of his ftiends, and but a few days before the nominat- 
ing caucus consented to the use of his name, but even then put 
forth no efforts on his own behalf. Another person, however, 
was chosen. It has always been conceded that had he made 
any effort to secure the office, he would have been elected. 
Speaking of it to a Ariend subsequently, he said he was glad he 
was not elected, ^' for," he continued, ^' I shall be ten times 
happier with my family at St. Peter, than as Senator at Wash^ 
ington." Perhaps there never was a man more tenderly or de- 
votedly attached to his family than Gov. Swift, and the above 
is only an instance of the sacrificea he made that he might not 
be compelled to forego their society. 

During the year 1865 he received the appointment of Eegis- 
ter at the St. Peter Land Office, which position he held at the 
time of his death. The appointment was entirely unsolicited, 
but it was the only public position he ever really enjoyed, as it 
enabled him to remain in that quiet home that to him was the 
Eden of Earth. 

In 1864 he had lost a daughter of eight years, and a son of 
four years, and in 1866, another child was snatched away. 
These bereavements afflicted him deeply, as he was tenderly 
attached to his children. His friends assert that it cast an in- 
eliacable shadow upon his life, and probably added to his dis- 
like of public office, or any position that would deprive him of 
the society of his wife and two remaining daughters who sur- 
vive him. On them his whole affections now centered. 

In February last, he was taken very ill with typhoid fever, 
and for some days his life was threatened. He then seemed to 
rally, and it was thought had passed the critical point and 
would recover. His friends throughout the State received this 
intelligence with much joy. It was of brief duration, however. 
On the evening of Wednesday, February 24, he suffered a re- 
lapse, and rapidly grew worse until ten o'clock the next morn- 
ing, when he peacefully and calmly expired, surrounded by his 
heart-broken family and friends. 

The intelligence of his death was received throughout the 



!)6 MixNEsoTA Historical collections. 

State with universal tokens of sorrow, evincing the high respect 
felt for him by men of all parties, and eulogies of the warmest 
character were published in almost every Minnesota journal. 
Perhaps never has the death of a citizen of our State excited 
more general regret, or called forth more spontaneous tributes 
to his past life and character. Grovemor Marshall, on Feb- 
ruary 25th, promptly transmitted to both houses of the Legis- 
lature, a copy of the telegram received by him announcing £x- 
Grov. SwiFT*s death, whereupon both houses at once adjourned, 
as a token of respect to his memory. On the 26th, Gov. 
Marshall sent in the following message : 

Statb of Minmbsota, EzEcunvx Dbpabtxkmt, 
flAtiTT Pactl, February 26, 1869. 

3b tks S§maU amd Ho%9$ of ReprmmiaHi^m : 

A brief telegram transmitted to yoa yesterday conveyed the lorrowftil news 
of the death of £x-Ooyemor Hxhrt A. Swirr, which occored at his home In 
St. Peter, Tharsday morning, the 25th Instant. 

No sa<di sad and palnfhl daty has before fallen to me, daring my pnbUc 
service, as this annonnoement of the death of one who had so honorably oo- 
copied the highest office In the State, and who was respected and beloved by 
oor whole people. 

l^he death of Governor Swift Is Indeed a public loss, and It Is fitting that 
yon should, by appropriate official action, testiiy the public sorrow. Pos- 
sessed as he was of rare capacity for public useAilness and of eminent pnblic 
virtues, It was not too much to hope that In the coming years— for he had 
scarcely reached the meridian of llfe->hls mature powers would be of Itur- 
ther eminent service to the State. 

This profoundly affiictlve providence fiiUs with crushing weight upon the 
ftimlly of the deceased. While mm* 9orr9w is that of the public, mourning the 
loss of one who had been eminent in the public service, and whom many of 
us had loved as a personal fHend, It Is to his wife and children an altogether 
Irreparable and llfe-overshadowlng loss. I know it wUl be your wish to 
testify to those sorrowing ones, who were nearest and dearest to the depart- 
ed, the public appreciation of their loss. In such terms as may possibly miti- 
gate. In some slight degree, the grief which God alone can assuage. 

I recommend the Joint action of the two houses of the Legislature In honor 
of the memory of 4he deceased, and In condolence with his affilcted family. 

BespeotfoUy, 

WX. R. MAB8HAI*!.. 

The following concurrent resolations were, on March 1st, 
adopted by both bodies : 

Buoti94dt By the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring. That 
this Legislature has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Bz-Govemor 
Hbnbt A. Swift, notice of which event has been communicated by a special 
message of his Excellency the Governor of this State. 

Suolttd, That by this dispensation, the State has lost a useful and honored 
citizen, whose life was without guile, and whose public and private career 
was lUustrated and adorned by every manly virtue, his past services consti- 
tute a bright chapter in the history of the State, and gave promise of stlU 



MElfOIB OF EX-aOV. UEKKY A. SWIFT. 97 

greater aaefulness to the publlo service, and of higher honors in a wider 
and more extended sphere of action. 

BsBotvMi, That this Leglslatore tenders to the fiunily and friends of the 
deceased, Its sympathy and condolence in this hoar of their supreme afllic- 
tlon, and conveys to them the assurance that while they mourn the loss of 
a tender husband, an affectionate fiather, and a constant friend, the State 
regards his death in the midst of his yean and at the maturity of his 
powers, as a great public calamity, and will ever cherish the memory of 
Hjerkt a. Swift as one of the most honored, trusted, and usefkil servants 
of the commonwealth. 

Bmolctdf That the resolutions be entered upon the Journal of either house 
of the Legislature, and that a copy of the same be sent to the widow of the 
deceased, by the Secretary of the Senate. 

In his own commnnity, where he was so well known and so 
aniversally and warmly beloved, his death produced a sadness 
that seemed to indicate that some calamity had befallen the 
town; Indeed, it was so regarded by all, as for years the 
deceased had been so active and prominent in every measure 
for the prosperity of the place, all classes felt they had lost a 
friend. On the day of his fhneral, which took place on Feb. 26, 
all business wa# suspended, and the public schools closed. 
Notwithstanding it was one of the severest days of the winter, 
almost the entire community attended his obsequies, which were 
held at his late residence. Rev. A. H. Kebb read a touching 
tribute to his virtues, which all present felt to be true and more 
than deserved. The aged parents of Gov. Swift, who had 
arrived that morning from their distant home, were in atten- 
dance, almost prostrated with grief. The scene at parting 
with the remains was one that brought tears to the eyes of all 
present. The remains were then borne to their last resting 
place, in a beautiful grove near his own residence, and side by 
side with the graves of his children, under the evergreens whicli 
he had planted with his own hands.^ 

The memory of Ex-Qov. Swift must always be respected by 
the people of the State for his integrity and fidelity as a public 
officer, his exemplary and upright conduct as a citizen, and bis 
many rare, social, and personal excellencies of character. Not 
a breath of detraction ever sullied his reputation. He was 
unambitious and unselfish in everything, with a natural reserve 
and modesty that seemed almost to shrink from public gaze. 

1. Since the above memoir was written, the remains of Oov. Swipt and 
his children have been removed to Ohio, and deposited in a cemetery at 
Ravenna, by request of his parents. 
13 



98 MI1IKS80TA HISTORICAL COLLECnOHS. 

His high sense of honor was manifest in all his public and 
private dealings. In him the domestic virtues excelled. As a 
friend he was ever generous, warm-hearted, and true. As a 
business man prompt and energetic. In his character all these 
virtues were so blended and harmonized, as to make a man 
*^ of rare mould." His whole life affords a noble example to 
the young men of the State. 

Ex-Gov. Swift was a member of the Minnesota Historical 
Society, and one of the Executive Council of 1864-5-6. He 
always took a deep interest in the success of the Society, aiding 
it whenever in his power. His death was appropriately noticed 
at the meeting on March 8th, and at a subsequent meeting 
resolutions to his memory adopted. 



SKETCH OF JOHN OTHER DAY. 



BY QEN. H. H. SIBLEY. 



Ampe-tu-to-kit-chah, or Othsb Day, whose death was 
announced in the newspapers as having oocurred in the hos- 
pital at Fort Wadsworth, Dakota Territory, on the 80th day of 
October, 1869, was the son of Zft-kah-doo-tah, or Red Bird, a 
Wakpaton Dakota or Sioux Indian, who was noted among his 
people as a war partizan. Red Bibd was a brother of Bia 
CuRLT, formerly chief of the Wakpaton Band, whose village 
was at Lac qui Parle on the Upper Minnesota River. 

Other Day was about fifty years old when he died. He had 
been distinguished as a hunter, and was classed by the fbr 
traders among those who could safely be trusted when goods 
were given out on credit to those Indians who were considered 
reliable and honest. When a young man he was passionate 
and revengeful, and withal addicted to intemperance as often 
as ardent spirits could be obtained, and he lived to lament that 
he had slain three or four of his fellows in his drunken orgies. 
In fact he was a determined and desperate man, although gen- 
erous to a fault in his better moods ; and previous to his con- 
version to Christianity, with no sense of moral obligation to 
restrain the exhibitions of his wild and wayward temper, he was 
an object of fear rather than of love to those with whom he was 
brought in contact. Nevertheless he was capable of the same 
heroic devotion to his red brethren at times, as he afterwards 
manifested to the whites, having on one occasion borne from 
the field of battle with the Chippewas on the St. Croix River, 
One-legged Jim, well known to the old settlers, who was so 
desperately wounded that he was unable to escape. He also 



100 MIKNESOTA HI8T0BICAL COLtBCTIONS. 

saved the life of an Indian named Fresnierb'b son in the same 
action, but he partially cancelled the obligation subsequently, 
by biting off a portion of the nose of the same individual in a 
drunken frolic. 

With that independence which was characteristic of the 
man, Other Day was among the first of his band to adopt the 
habits and dress of the whites, a step which met with bitter 
opposition fh>m Little Crow, who was the leader of the pagan 
Indians, and exerted all his influence to the last to thwart mis- 
sionary operations and to prevent any innovation upon the es- 
tablished customs and superstitious observances of the Dakotas. 
The decided attitude assumed by so prominent a person as 
Other Dat, produced a most salutary impression, insomuch 
that many of the young men followed his example, submitted 
to receive religious instruction from the missionaries, and aban- 
doning to a great extent the precarious occupation of the chase, 
they applied themselves to the cultivation of the soil. 

Subsequent to the massacre at Spirit Lake by Ink-pah-doo- 
tah's band of Sioux, Other Dat manifested his attachment to 
the whites by accompanying the government forces in pursuit 
of the murderers, one of whom, a son of the chief, he killed 
with his own hand. He volunteered, with two other friendly 
Indians, to attempt the ransom of Miss Gardner, who was 
held captive by Ink-pah-doo-tah's people, and they succeeded 
in effecting her release by the exercise of courage and tact, for 
which the trio received high commendation. 

At the time of the outbreak of 1862, Other Dat resided on 
the reservation near the Minnesota River, in a comfortable 
dwelling built by the U. S. Indian Agent, in accordance with 
treaty stipcdations, and he had quite a creditable amount of 
land well fenced, and good crops of corn and potatoes. When 
information reached him that the Indians at the Lower Agency 
were engaged in the indiscriminate murder of the whites at that 
point, he took instant measures to save the lives of the mis- 
sionaries and other whites within his reach. By his advice 
they assembled together without delay, to the number of sixty- 
two men, women and children, and leaving all their property 
to the mercy of the savages, they were conducted by their 
heroic guide through unA*equented routes to a place of safety 



SKETCH OP JOHN OTHBR DAT. lOl 

within the settlements, a distance of more than one hundred 
and fifty miles. There was of necessity, much suffering among 
the young and feeble from exposure and want of proper food 
during the long and toilsome march. The self-sacrificing devo- 
tion of Otheb Day in rescuing so many lives from impending 
destruction, was the more signal and remarkable, when one 
takes into account the certainty that his action in that regard 
would be followed by the loss of all his worldly possessions. 
His house, with all its contents, was soon after burned by the 
enraged savages, and he was but poorly remunerated by the 
appropriation of $2,500 for his benefit by Congress at its next 
session. Like many others who showed their friendship to our 
government and people during the fearful scenes of 1862, by 
the performance of brave deeds against their own kindred in 
battle. Other Day was left without any adequate provision for 
his own support and that of his family, in fact, his widow, a 
white woman, is now destitute of the necessaries of life at her 
home, on the reservation near Fort Wadsworth. 

During the campaign of. 1862, Other Day was employed by 
me as a scout, and he rendered good service in that capacity, 
as I advanced with my column of troops in search of the hostile 
Indians. At the crossing of the Red Wood River, Other Day 
being some distance to the Aront, dismounted from his horse 
to examine the inside of a deserted house. After gratifying 
his curiosity, he issued from the building just in time to per- 
ceive his horse, bestrode by two savages, disappearing in the 
woods. He fired an ineifectual shot at the daring thieves, and 
rejoined the command on foot, in a very unenviable state of 
mind. I remarked to him, that I little expected any of my 
chosen scouts to allow themselves to be outwitted as he had 
been, and the quiet rebuke mortified him exceedingly, but he 
said he deserved it, and would endeavor to regain my good 
opinion whenever opportunity should offer. The pledge was 
promptly redeemed, for at the battle of Wood Lake, a few days 
afterwards, which broke the power of the enemy, Other Day 
was conspicuous for his daring, and incurred great danger, not 
only from the fire of the savages, but from our own troops, 
who repeatedly discharged their muskets at him, mistaking 
him for one of the hostile Indians. He brought to me, with a 



102 laMKBSOTA msrOBICAL COLLSCTIom. 

triamphant air, two horses which he had taken during the 
action. 

With the money he received A:om the government, Other 
Day purchased a farm, a few miles distant from Henderson, in 
Sibley county, where he resided for three or four years, but his 
knowledge of husbandry was too limited to enable him to suc- 
ceed unaided. He finally sold his land at a sacrifice, and 
removed to the Sisseton and Wakpaton reservation, a few miles 
Arom ^ort Wadsworth, where the U. S. Agent, Major Thompson, 
kindly built for him a commodious log house. The pre-dispo- 
sition to pulmonary afifections, so common among the aborig- 
ines of the Northwest, developed itself in him more than a year 
prior to his decease, and during the last summer he continued 
to decline in health, until it was deemed advisable to procure 
for him admission into the hospital at the Fort, if practicable. 
Fortunately, the warm intercession of the agent was successful 
in obtaining the requisite permit, and the subject of this memoir 
was speedily transported to the hospital, where he was placed 
under the professional care of Surgeon Knickerbocker, of the 
army, who exhausted all the resources of medical skill to pro- 
long his life. But consumption was too firmly fixed to be ar- 
rested, and Other Day died from hemorrhage on the day before 
stated, his wife and many sympathising friends being present 
at his bedside. He met his fate calmly and without apprehen- 
sion. Christianity had transformed him from a wild and blood- 
thirsty savage into a sincere and humble believer. Other Day 
has gone to his reward, and we may indulge the confident hope, 
that after a long and eventful life, marked with much of both 
good and evil, he has been received into the rest of that Saviour 
in whom he had placed his trust. 

I am happy to acknowledge my obligations to Major Forbes, 
Major Thompson and Dr. Daniels, for materials furnished by 
them in the preparation of this memoir. 

St. Paul, January 27e7i, 1870. 



A COINCIDENCE. 



BY MRS. CHARLOTTE O. VAN CLBVB. 



"Backward I tarn backward, Oh Time I In thy flight* 
Make me a child again, Just for to-night." 

Take me to my early home at Fort Snelling, and help me 
to live over again that happy time when I knew nothing of care 
and sorrow, and when the sight of the dear old flag, ran up 
each morning, to the roll of the dram, and the sentinels' call at 
night, ^^AlTa uoeU aroundj* made me feel secare, and at home, 
even in what was then a wilderness. 

Many pleasant scenes, and many startling ones, come at my 
call. Some are more vivid than others, and perhaps the very 
first distinct remembrance is the arrival of the first steam- 
boat.^ 

It had been talked of and expected for a long time ; it is hard 
to realize in this age of rapid travelling how much interested 
and excited every one felt in anticipation of what was then a 
great event. It was to bring us into more direct and easy 
communication with the world, and small wonder that the 
prospect of being at the head of steamboat navigation should 
have caused excitement and rejoicing to those who had been 
receiving their mails at intervals of montha instead of Tiours. 

To me of course, child that I was, it only meant a sight 
never before witnessed, a something heard of and seen in pic- 
tures, but never realized. But even we children felt in listen- 
ing to our elders, that something great was about to happen. 

1. The Virginia, commanded by Oapt. G&AwroBD, was the first steamboat 
which arrived at Fort SneUlng. The exact date was May 10, 1828. The Vir- 
ginia was 118 feet in length and 29 in width. Among her passengers was the 
Italian refugee and trayeUer, Bmlt&ami^-W . 



104 HINKE80TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

At last one bright summer morning, when amusing myself 
on the piazza in the rear of the officers' quarters, there came a 
sound, new and very strange ! All listened a' moment in awe 
and gratitude, and then broke out Arom many voices, '' The 
steamboat is coming ! the steamboat is coming !" And look ! 
there is the smoke curling gracefully through the trees : hark ! 
to the puffing of the steam, startling the echoes from a sleep 
coeval with creation. Now she rounds the point and comes 
into full view. I stand on tip-toe and strain my eyes, but can- 
not see all I long to, until Lieutenant (now General) David 
Hunter, my special favorite, catches me up and holds me on 
the balustrade ; and now I clap my hands and almost cry with 
delight, for there she is, just landing, in all her pride and 
beauty, as if she felt herself the Pioneer Steamboat, and knew 
she would become historic. 

Officers and soldiers, women and children, are hurrying down 
the hill ; terrified Indians rush from their wigwams and look on 
in amazement, utterly confounded, refusing to go near what 
they call, the *^ Bad SpirU,"^ 

Greetings and congratulations warm and heart-felt are ex- 
changed ; and speedily the mail is opened, papers and letters 
are distributed ; all search eagerly for news from home, and my 
joy is turned into grief for my friend Lieut. Hunter, who 



1. In a oommunicatlon to the St. Paul ChrHidcU and BegitUr, of April 6, 1850, 
the late Phixjlndbb Pbbsoott describes the firlght of the Indians at the first 
steamboat: 

" The Indians say they had dreamed of seeing some monster of the deep the 
night before, which firightened them very much. It appears they did not dls- 
oover the boat until it had got into the mouth of the St. Peter's, below Mr. 
Sibley's. They stood and gaeed with astonishment at what they saw ap- 
proaching, taking the boat to be some angry god of the water, coughing and 
spouting water upwards, sideways and forward. They had not courage 
enough to stand until the boat came near them. The women and chUdren 
took to the woods, with their hair floating behind them in the breeze, from 
the speed they were going, in running ftom supposed danger. Some of the 
men had a little more courage, and only moved off to a short distance ftom 
the shore, and the boat passed along and landed. Everything being quiet for 
a moment, the Indians came np to the boat again, and stood looking at the 
monster of the deep. All at once the boat began to blow off steam, and the 
bravest warriors could not stand this awfhl roaring, but took to the woods, 
men, women and children, with their blankets flying in the wind ; some 
tumbUng in the brush which entangled their feet as they ran away— some 
haUooing, some crying, to the great amusement of the people on bocurd the 
steamboat."— W. 



A COINOIIiENCE. 105 

learns by the very boat, whose coming he hailed with so much 
pleasure, that he is fatherless. All sympathise deeply with 
him ; few know how closely drawn together are the occupants 
of a frontier post, how, like one family, they hear each other's 
griefs and share each other's joys. But the common joy, 
although dampened was not destroyed, and civilities were ten* 
dered to the captain and officers of the boat, who were real 
gentlemen, and became great favorities at the fort. 

They came again the next year, perhaps more than once, 
and pleasant excursion parties on the boat relieved the mo- 
notony of fort life. 

The steamboat was the topic of conversation for a long time. 
The day of its arrival became an era from which we reckoned, 
and those of the first occupants of Fort Snelling who still sur- 
vive, can scarcely recall a more delightful reminiscence, tl^an 
the arrival of the first steamboat, in the summer of 1828. 

Years passed away, childhood, with its lightheartedness, 
gave way to youth, and that again to womanhood ; and then 
came middle life with its many '^ares, its griefs, its Joys too, 
and its unnumbered mercies, with bright anticipations of a 
blessed rest from toil and pain, — when on one pleasant summer 
day in 1864 I find myself with a party of friends, who have 
oome to visit Fort Snelling and its many interesting surround-' 
ings, standing side by side with my mother on the bastion of 
the fort, recalling days and scenes long gone by. 

Leaning against the railing and contemplating the riyer, so 
beautiful from that height, she remarked to me, ^' Can you 
remember, my child, when the first steamboat came up this 
river?" I answered ^' Yes, oh ! yes, most distinctly do I remem- 
ber it." And then we talk of the event and recall the many 
pleasant things connected with it ; when lo I a whistle, and the 
loud puffing and snotting of the iron horse ! Capt. Nbwson 
standing near and listening to our conversation, exclaimed, 
pointing over to Mendota, ^' And there goes the first train of cars 
that ever started out from Fort Snelling !" 

Hushed and breathless we gaze at the fast vanishing train, 

feeling, as we stand there, we two alone, of all who saw that 

other great event, over forty years ago^ like links connecting the 

buried past with the living present. 
14 



106 HIMNK80TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

And we would fain weep, as we think of those who stood be- 
side us then, now long since passed away — but living, loving 
friends are about us, and we will not let our sadness mar their 
pleasure, so down in the depths of our hearts we hide these 
tender recollections to indulge in when we are alone. 

I look long at the beautiful river, and think as it ripples and 
laughs in tiie sun-light, that, could our ears catch the language 
of its murmurings, we should hear, 

•( Men may come, and men may go. 
But I go on forever.'* 

St. Anthony, 1869. 



MEMOIR OF HON. JAS. W. LYND. 



BY BEY. S. B. BIGGS. 



In compliance with a request from the Ezecutive Council of 
the Minnesota Historical Society, I have arranged the following 
imperfect sketch of Mr. Ltnd. 

A letter from his father, Rev. S. W. Lthd, now of Cincinnati, 
Ohio, together with what appears to be an editorial **In 
Memoriam," which appeared in the LovisviUe Journal of 
October, 1862, contains all the information concerning Mr. 
Ltnd's early life that I have been able to obtain. 

James W. Ltio) was bom on the 25th of November, 1830. 
His father was Rev. S. W. Ltkd, D. D., an eminent Baptist 
clergyman. His birthplace was Baltimore, Maryland; but 
afterwards the family removed to Kentucky ; for the next we 
hear of him he is a youth in Covington. 

^' There was nothing peculiar in him in his boyhood, except 
an obvious love of the beautiful in nature and art, and a mind 
of more than ordinary delicacy and taste. But he was not fond 
of school, and was at an early age, having acquired a tolerable 
English education, placed in a store, where he obtained a 
knowledge of business, and subsequently became a clerk in the 
office of Hn insurance company, with quite a large salary for 
a young man not twenty years of age, and with the promise of 
an annual increase." 

Another chronicle says, ^^ Inheriting equally from his learned 
and now venerable father, and his noble and acco^mplished 
mother, a physique at once vigorous and refined, and a native 
spirit correspondingly dauntless and susceptible, he was con- 
stitutionally a pioneer, a scholar, and a poet." 



108 M1NME80TA IIISTOJUCAL COLLECTIONS. 

The foUowiog is given as a sample of his poetical abilities as 
developed daring his school life : 9 

HERODOTUS. 

The graces on a SQUuner day 
Were sporting merrily at play, 
When tbas, the sporting o'er, did say 

The fldr Eaphrosyne : 
*■ Sisters mine, sisters mine, 

By brook and bower, dale and dell. 
Sisters mine, sisters mine, 

I have a pleasant tale to tell : 
As o'er the fields I chanced to stray. 
Singing of onr AroHcs gay. 
And tripping softly on my way, 

As light as light conld be, 
Sisters mine, sisters mine, 
What think yon that I saw, 
Beneath the creeping eglantine. 

And stately dahlia?— 
A yonth of golden locks, and brow 
Whiter than purest crystal snow. 
The shady trees and vines below. 

Smiling in slumber lay; 
His locks strayed o'er his glowing cheeky 
His lips apart seemed most to speak ; 
What did I to the blooming Greek? 

Fair sisters shall I say? 
I crowned his brows with myrtles green, 
His parted lips my rod between 
I placed, and well endowed I ween, 

The yonth with eloquence ; 
I touched the bosom of the youth. 
And in his inmost heart, forsooth. 
Arose that burning love of truth 

That burns without pretence ; 
I kissed his brow as he reclined. 
And made him, as the gods designed, 
A mighty and immortal mind I 

Say, sisters, did I well?" 

Of Mr. Ltnd's edacation it is said he received it ^' onder his 
father's excellent aaspices." From his' father's statement it 
appears that, although ** not fond of school when a boy/' after 
being engaged as clerk in the insurance office for a year or 
more, he woke up to the importance of learning, and " resolved 



MEMOIB OV HON. JA8. W. LTND. 109 

to educate himself." He now commenoed his stadies under 
the supervision of the professors in the Western Baptist Insti- 
tute in Covington, Kentucky. *< Here he made himself quite a 
good Latin scholar and a mathematician." He excelled especially 
in geometry. '^ His professor in geometry regarded him as 
the best geometrician he had ever met with in his teaching." 
This was not mimeaning praise. 

In the spring of 1857, 1 think it was, I first met with Mr. 
Lthd, under somewhat singular circumstances. I was returning 
home to' Hazlewood from Saint Peter, in the month of April, 
in company with Mr. W. W. Ellison and his sister. We found 
the Redwood stream so swollen by recent rains that it was 
impossible to effect a crossing that afternoon. It was still rain- 
ing and we had a fine prospect for a wet night. We sought 
shelter from the storm at the government mill then at the falls 
of the Redwood. Sometime after night ^^ Wb-cua-ha-na-pin," — 
Raccoon Collar^ — as the Dakotas called Mr. Ltnd, sought the 
same shelter. And as he and others slept in the loft above, we 
heard him discussing mathematical questions until a late hour 
of the night. 

But to return to his school days : — ^His father says, '< During 
this time he gave much of his attention to literary acquirements, 
intending to devote his life to literary pursuits. He became, 
through his own untiring industry, and almost entirely self- 
taught, a very fine performer on the piano." While the 
LovismlXe Journal says, he was *^ deeply and naturally imbued 
with an unpretending, but soul-absorbing love of all that is 
romantic and beautiful in life ; he was a worshipper of art, a 
proficient in music, and not only a connoisseur of polite letters, 
but himself although he had published littie, a gifted and 
industrious producer." 

He is said to have taken *' peculiar pleasure in studying the< 
character " of the Indians. With an enthusiasm for the wild 
and picturesque that knew no bounds, he became, long before 
his removal to Minnesota, singularly interested in the Indian 
character, and constantly availed himself of every opportunity 
and resource to acquaint himself with the legends, traditions, 
languages and ethnology of the aborigines. He covered the 
walls of his apartments in college with Indian words." The 



110 MDIKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

writer goes on to say ; <^ and learned to speak the language, 
or rather languages of the Dakotas, with the fluency and 
idiomatic intonations of the natives themselves." 

This seems to refer to the time previous to his coming to 
Minnesota; but even referring it to his attainments in after 
years, it must be regarded as the judgment of a fHend who had 
never learned to speak an Indian language. I have heard a 
great many white men talk Dakota, but I have yet to hear 
one, in all respects, talk it " with the fluency and idiomatic 
intonations of the natives/* Mr. Ltnd, previous to his death, 
spoke the language too well to have made such a claim for 
himself. But it is proper for me to say, that he did speak the 
Dakota language very fluently, and doubtless understood its 
grammatical construction better than most white men in the 
country. 

*^ He was always of a retiring disposition, keeping his own 
counsel, and tender and kind in all his intercourse with others." 
This is the father's testimony. It seems that he did not keep 
his friends very well informed of his circumstances after he 
left home. 

There is some difficulty in determining the exact time when 
Mr. Ltnd came to Minnesota. His father gives 1850. But 
that must be a mistake, as he was then only twenty years old, 
and it was in his twentieth year he commenced to obtain his 
.education. The writer in the LouisviUe Journal^ says : " With 
all the enthusiasm of a voyageur, and the indefatigableness of 
an antiquary, he removed- nine . years ago directly into the 
midst of those whom he so much loved to study." This would 
place his arrival in Minnesota in the year 1853, which better 
agrees with the statements made in regard to his education. 

*^ Settling at Traverse des Sioux^*' says the Journal^ ^^ he 
renewed his investigations with more ardor than ever, mingling 
constantly with the Indians. Systematically gathering and 
arranging the varied and abundant materials thus accumulated, 
he at length condensed his laborious researches into a most 
interesting and carefblly-prepared manuscript volume, which 
we have had the pleasure of examining, and which, if published, 
would, we have no doubt, prove a very valuable contribution to 



MEMOIR OF HON. JA8. W* LTND. Ill 

OUT obscure knowledge of this disinherited and vanishing 
race." 

As the Indians were removed from the Traverse des Sioux 
country about this time of 1853, Mr. Ltnd probably did not 
remain long there. For several years he was, to some extent, 
engaged in the fur trade, and was connected with the Bbowkb. 
My understanding was that he was a partner with Nathaitisl 
Browk. While in this business he resided at various points, 
but chiefly at the Lower Sioux Agency and at Henderson. 

Following the example of others in the trade, and especially 
of those with whom he was more especially connected, Mr. 
Ltnd, soon after he came into the country, took Mart Napat- 
SHus, a very respectable and educated Indian girl. She had 
been raised in one of the mission families, and could read and 
speak English quite well. By this connection she has two 
beautiful, light-haired, fair-skinned girls, the eldest of which 
must be now eight or nine years old. Mr. Lnn> was frequently 
urged to marry this woman, and at times he expressed his wish 
and determination to do so, but he did not do it. It is believed 
that this course commended itself to his better nature, but the 
influence of otfiers was against it. Some time before the out- 
break, he abandoned Mart and attached himself to another 
woman, by whom also he had a child. This boy betrayed his 
paternity, and the mother was proud of it. While the Indian 
camp was at Fort Snelling, during the winter after the out- 
break, this boy was baptized Jambs Ltnd. 

I need hardly say that this custom of taking Indian girls by 
white men never received our countenance ; and if I could 
conscientiously have done it, it would have been more pleasant 
for me to ignore these facts rather than record them. But 
however censurable this course was, it certainly gave him 
advantages of learning the Dakota inner and outer life superior, 
in some respect, to those enjoyed by us missionaries. 

Under the auspices of Mr. J. R. Browk, a weekly paper 
was, for several years, published at Henderson, Minn., called 
the Henderson Democrat. As its name indicates it was on the 
Democratic side in politics as opposed to the Republican. Of 
this paper Mr. Ltnd acted as editor for nearly a year I believe, 
and conducted it with more ability than ordinarily characterized 



112 MlKKKSOTA mSTORlCAL COLLBCTION8. 

it. But in the preparation for the great struggle of 1860, 
which terminated in the ascendency of the Republican party 
both in the State and nation, Mr. Ltnd changed his politics, 
and came out on the winning side. Soon after the declaration 
of this change in his political faith, he retired from the editor's 
chair, and being taken up by his new friends, he was elected 
to the State Senate, from the district in which are Sibley and 
Nicollet counties. 

During his senatorial term of two years, Mr. Ltnd is under- 
stood to have applied himself to the interests of his constituents 
in such a manner as to give general satisfaction. In the first 
winter a law was enacted enfranchising educated Indians, 
which obtained Mr. Ltkd's cordial and energetic support. Of 
his labors during this period, some of Mr. Ltnd's co-legislators 
could give a much more worthy account than it is possible for 
me to do. 

One of these winters he was invited to deliver the annual 
address before the Historical Society of Minnesota. On this 
occasion [Jan. 21, 1861] he entertained his audience with the 
substance of one of the chapters in his then nearly finished 
work on the ^'History, Legends, Traditions, Language, and 
Religion •f the Dakotas." 

This work, it appears, was projected by Mr. Ltnd before he 
came to Minnesota ; and his coming among the Dakotas was 
for the purpose of carrying out this life-plan. 

In our circle at Yellow Medicine, it was understood that it 
was finished and ready for the press, in the spring before the 
outbreak. But for some reasons not known to us, his mission 
to the East, as we supposed for the purpose of finding a 
publisher, was not then successful. 

At the time of the outbreak, this manuscript appears to have 
been in the store of N. Mtbick & Co., where Mr. Ltnd was 
then stopping. Before the store was burned it was plundered 
by the Indians. These rolls of manuscript were probably carried 
out in some trunk, and then thrown away in the ravine, as 
being of no value to them. Many months afterwards they 
were found by some soldiers who were employed at the saw- 
mill in that neighborhood. Already greatly mutilated, and 
some of the chapters lost, they sufi'ered still more in the hands 



/ 



MEMOIR OF HON. JAS. W. LYND. 113 

of the soldiers, who commenced using them for gun-wadding. 
This process of destruction was stopped hy Captain Shepherd, 
then of Fort Ridgely, and after a correspondence with the 
writer of this notice, the remaining part of the manuscript, 
containing some chapters almost entire and also valuable por- 
tions of chapters, was placed in the keeping of the Historical 
Society. 

On the morning of August the 18th, 1862, at the Lower 
Sioux Agency, was commenced that fearful burst of savage 
fhry which swept over the border land of- Minnesota, and 
depopulated for a time twenty counties. And James W. Ltnd 
was the first man killed that morning. As we have already 
said, he was then making his headquarters at the store of N. 
Mtrick & Co., awaiting the payment. The sun bad scarcely 
risen on the morning of that bloody day, when the Indians from 
Ltitlb Six's band on the Redwood, f^om LrrrLE Crow's and 
the other villages between that and the agency, commenced 
gathering, all painted, and ready for their contemplated work. 
It was to commence at Mtrick's store. In front of that was 
the principal gathering. 

To account to white men for their being painted and armedy 
they said there were Chippewas in the country, and they were 
going to hunt them. It is believed that the deception was 
perfect. Until the attack commenced the white men did not 
suspect it. Some Indians also were deceived in the same way. 

According to testimony given before a military commission, 
the killing was commenced in this way : Mr. Divol, Myrick's 
clerk, was out in the stable yard, coming towards the house. 
Mr. Ltnd was standing in the end door of the store, looking 
out towards the stables. Two Indians, with double-barrelled 
guns, entered the store by the front door, and shot Mr. Ltnd in 
the back. He fell out of the door, and is supposed to have 
died in a few minutes. 

This was the end of his earthly life. Many others suffered 
more on that day than he did. The firing of these guns was 
the signal for co.nmencing the work of death at all the stores 
and at the agency buildings. 

Mr. Ltkd's being the first victim is not supposed to have been 

the result of any special hatred towards him on the part of the 
15 



114 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Indians. According to the testimony of Indians and half- 
breeds, Andrew Mtrick had recently made himself peculiarly 
obnoxious, and this was the reason why they had agreed to 
commence at that store. And as they had before determined 
to kill all white men, Mr. Ltnd was shot first because he 
presented the first and best mark. 

As a gentlemanly man, as a kind and accommodating friend 
and neighbor, as an intelligent and interesting companion, and 
as one really enthusiastic in his interest in the Indians' present 
and fliture, James W, Lynd will be remembered by many 
in his adopted State of Minnesota. 

St. Anthony^ Jan. 27, 1865. 



THE DAKOTA MISSION 



BY RSV. S. R. BIGGS. 



In the chronicles of Fort Snelling, published by the Minnesota 
Historical Society in 1865, mention is made of a visit to that 
post on the Ist of September, 1829, by the Rev. Alvin Coe, 
accompanied by Mr. J. D. Stevens. They came on an explor- 
ing tour, with the view of establishing Protestant missions 
among the Chippewas and Dakotas. 

Bat the Dakota mission was not commenced until several 
years afterwards. 

In this same Fort Snelling chronicle it is recorded that, '' in 
the year 1834, Samuel W. and Gideon H. Pond arrived, and 
offered their services for the benefit of the Sioux, and were 
sent out to the Agent's agricultural colony at Lake Calhoun." 
These brothers Pond were young men from Washington, Conn., 
and are still honored residents of Minnesota. They built a 
log cabin near the Indian village, on a high bluff on the lake 
shore. 

During this summer of 1834, Thos. S. Williamson, of Ripley, 
Ohio, received from the Am. Board a commission '^ to proceed 
on an exploring tour among the Indians of the Upper 
Mississippi." 

In the spring following. Doctor Williamson, with Mrs. 
Williamson and one child, left Ripley to remove to the land of 
the Dakotas. He was accompanied by Mr. Alex. G. HuaoiNS, 
as missionary farmer, with his wife and two children. Miss 
Sarah Poage, a sister of Mrs. Williamson, who afterwards 
became the first Mrs. G. H. Pond, made one of the party, as 
teacher. They reached Fort Snelling on the 16th of May, 1835. 



116 MINNESOTA HISTORICiX COLLECTIONS. 

On the 80th of the same month, Jededllh D. Stevens, now 
a minister of the gospel, who was here with Mr. Ck>E, nearly 
six years before, arrived with his family. A niece of Mr. 
Stevens, Miss Luct Cornelia Stevens, accompanied them as 
teacher. She was afterwards married to Mr. Gavin, one of 
the Swiss missionaries. 

On the second Sabbath of June, a Presbyterian church was 
organized in one of the company rooms of the fort, and the 
sacrament of the Lord's supper was administered. Of this 
church. Captain, now Colonel Gustavus Looms, and (now) Gen. 
H. H. Siblet, were elected ruling elders. 

Mr. Stevens commenced a mission station at Lake Harriet ; 
and on the 23d of June, Dr. Williamson and his party left the 
fort for Lac qui Parle, in company with Joseph Renville, the 
trader at that place. 

The first years of the mission at both stations were spent in 
erecting buildings, in acquiring the language, and in teaching 
such as were at first found willing to learn. 

At Lake Harriet, Mr. Stevens commenced and carried on for 
several years a small boarding school, which resulted in 
educating and preparing for greater usefhlness several half- 
breed girls. 

At Lac qui Parle some were taught in the English language, 
but more learned to read in the Dakota. Some progress was 
made in collecting words for a vocabulary and in obtaining 
translations of portions of Scripture. These were obtained by 
Dr. Williamson through Mr. Renville. The process was by 
reading the French and then writing down the Dakota as given 
by Mr. R. 

In the spring of 1886, Mr. Gideon H. Pond went to Lac qui 
Parle to assist in manual labor and teaching. In the autumn 
of that year, Mr. S. W. Pond returned to his native place in 
Connecticut, where he was licensed and ordained as an evangelist 
to preach to the Indians. In the following spring he returned 
and again took up his abode chiefly with the Lake Calhoun 
Indians, residing at the Lake Harriet Station. 

On the first day of June, 1887. S. R. Rioos and his wife 
Mart A. L. Rioas, reached Fort Snelling, and were kindly 
received by Lieut. Ogden and his wife, who was the daughter 



THE DAKOTA MISSION. 117 

of then Maj. Loomis. For the next three months they were 
domiciled in an upper room of the school house at the Lake 
Harriet Station. 

'^ The situation of the mission houses is very beautiful, on a 
little eminence Just upon the shore of a lovely lake skirted with 
trees. Beyond, towards the fort, commences a finely undulat- 
ing prairie which reaches to the rivers. About a mile north of 
us is Lake Calhoun, on the margin of which is an Indian village 
of about twenty teepees. Most of these are bark houses twenty 
feet square, and others are tents of skins." 

The following extract from a letter written at the time will 
show something of first impressions : 

'^The most singular ornament I have seen was a large 
striped snake fastened among the painted hair, feathers and 
ribbons of an Indian's head dress, in such a manner that it 
could coil around in front, and dart out its snaky head or creep 
down the back at pleasure. The Indian sat perfectl}^ at ease, 
apparently enjoying the astonishment and fear manifested by 
some of the family.*' 

An interesting fact is related of Mrs. Persis Dentan as 
having occurred early in this spring of 1837. Mrs. Dentan 
was formerly Miss Skinner, of the Mackinaw mission, but 
married Mr. Dentan, one of the Swiss missionaries, who came 
to preach the gospel to the Dakotas. 

Mr. Dentan was taken sick at Fort Snelling. Mrs. D. heard 
of it, and as soon as the ice was out of the Mississippi, she 
procured a canoe, and with two Indian women to paddle, came 
up a hundred miles, sleeping on the snow-covered ground two 
nights. 

About the first of September, Doctor Williamson and Mr. 
Pond came down from Lac qui Parle ; and Mr. and Mrs. Rigqs 
returned with them, reaching the mission band at the ^^Lake 
that Speaks," on the thirteenth. 

On Thursday, the 2d day of November, Mr. G. H. Pond and 
Miss Sarah Poage were married. Mr. Pond on this occasion 
followed the injunction of the Saviour : " When thou makest 
a feast call not thy friends and thy rich neighbors, but call 
the poor and the lame and the blind." It was a novel wedding 



t 



118 MIMNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLKCTION8. 

sapper, and with glad hearts they dished out and ate the 
potatoes and turnips and pork. 

A native mission church had been organized nearly two 
years before by Dr. Williaicsom, and at this time numbered 
about fifteen, with A. G. Huggins, 6. H. Pond, and Mr. 
Rbnyillk, as ruling elders. For many years the majority of 
the native church members were women. Some time after, this 
fact was brought up by the Indian men as an objection, that 
our church was an assembly of women. We ought to have 
waited and taken the men in first. 

Late in October of 1838, Dr. Williamson and his wife started 
for Ohio. He had obtained the Grospel of Mark in the Dakota 
language, together with fugitive chapters from other parts of 
the Bible. Also he took with him the manuscript for a school 
book. Although not exactly the first printing done in the 
language, these were the first books that did much service in 
the mission. Heretofore teaching had been done chiefly by 
means of lessons printed by hand. 

At Lake Harriet mission station, on the 22d of November, 
1838, Samuel William Pond was married to Miss Cordelia 
Eggleston, who was a sister of Mrs. J. D. Stevens. And in 
the spring of 1839, Miss Lucy Cobneua Stevens was married 
to Rev. Daniel Gavin. For a while Mr. and Mrs. Gavin 
resided at Bed Wing and then removed to East Canada, where 
they labored for the French population. 

Early in the spring of 1839, Mr. G. H. Pond rem^oved with 
his family from Lac qui Parle, making a cance voyage down the 
Minnespta, and established himself in connection with his 
brother at Lake Harriet, to labor again with the Lake Calhoun 
band. About this time Mr. Stevens left the service of the 
board and removed to Wabashaw, and then to Prairie du Chien. 

The winter of 1838 and '39 was remarkable for a religious 
excitement. More than usual interest was felt and manifested 
— the meetings were larger than before — and ten women were 
added to the church at Lac qui Parle. The next summer was 
somewhat noted for an unsuccessful war party which made a 
pcUk to the Chippewa country; and coming home without 
scaZpSy they laid the blame to the prayers of the mission, and 
took Tfengeance on our cattle. 



THE DAKOTA MISSION. 119 

Protestant missions carry with them the plough and the 
loom. From the beginning it had been a part of our work to 
make more than two stalks of com grow where one grew 
before. And the Indians themselves being witnesses, we had 
helped them to raise a much more plentifol supply of com and 
afterwards of potatoes. 

Mrs. HuGGiNS was mistress of the spinning wheel, and 
introduced the Dakota women and girls into the mysteries of 
twisting flax and wool. In the autumn of 1888 they commenced 
to knit socks and stockings. But not until a year later, or 
towards the close of 1839, did they try their skill in weaving. 
On a loom made and put into operation by Mr. Hcggins, two 
Dakota women and two girls wove for themselves each enough 
of linsey for a sJiort gown — in all ten or twelve yards. This 
was doubtless the first cloth made in Minnesota. For several 
years education in domestic manufactures was continued, more 
for the purpose of showing the Indians how such things were 
done, than with the expectation of getting the wheel and the 
loom domiciled among them. 

During the first years of the mission at Lac qui Parle, ^' the 
church" was literally *Mn the house." Dr. Williamson had 
built a story and a half log house, one end of the lower part 
of which was devoted to school and Sabbath meetings. When 
the congregations increased, the partition between this and 
Doctor W.'s living rooms, was made into doors, and so a larger 
assembly was accommodated. 

In the summer of 1841, a church was built of unbumt bricks, 
which stood for thirteen years, until the station was removed to 
Hazlewood. This building was surmounted by a bell, which 
was the first bell so used in Minnesota. 

About this time we received our first male members from the 
fhll-blood Dakotas. By this our people there were subjected 
to a species of persecution which is difficult to bear. When 
Simon Ana-wanymane, after professing Christianity, put on 
the white man's dress and went to work, he had in the 
estimation and language of the Indians, ^^made himself a 
woman." 

Owing to the war with the Chippewas and the exposed 
position of the Indians at Lake Calhoun, they abandoned this 



120 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

place and removed over to the Minnesota. Bat for some time 
they were unsettled. The Mr. Ponds accordingly left Lake 
Harriet in the spring of 1840, and for a while lived in the stone 
house near Fort Snelling, known as the ^^ Baker House.'' It 
was not until 1843 that they were able to build at Oak Grove 
and again reside among the same Indians. With these lower 
Indians there were always many opposing forces, and God's 
truth made but little progress. 

In the summer of 1842, Mr. and Mrs. Riggs ^^ visited the 
States," as we called it then. What we regarded then as a 
very good translation of the Gospel of John had been procured 
through Mr. Renville. Mr. G. H. Pond had translated Luke, 
and Mr. Riggs had translated The Acts and Paul's Epistles with 
the Revelation of John. Added to this we had a portion of the 
Psalms and Dr. Williamson's translation of Genesis. Besides, 
our hymns in the Dakota Language had now accumulated so 
as to be quite a work to write off. Then we needed some 
school books. All of these being prepared for the press, the 
object of this visit on East was to have the books printed. 
The printing was done partly in Boston and partly in 
Cincinnati. 

In this year Mr. S. W. Pond removed up to Lac qui Parle and 
Dr. Williamson came down to the stone house, which places 
they continued to occupy until the year following, when they 
both returned. 

About this time the contest on the polygamy question was at 
its height. It was quite a common thing for the principal 
Dakota men to have more than one wife. In several instances 
two wives of one man had been received to the church at Lac 
qui Parle. It was not perceived that we could adopt any rule 
excluding either of them. And when the man came he pleaded 
that he had done this in a state of ignorance — ^that to put one 
away would subject the woman to difficulties and expose her to 
temptations, and that he wished to keep the mother for the 
sake of the children. He pleaded also the example of Solomon 
and David and Jacob and Abraham. The question had its 
difficulties. The missionaries did not exactly harmonize in 
their views. But finally it was worked out, and ho man having 



THE DAKcyiA MI88IOK. 121 

more than one woman was reoognized as a member of the 
mission church. 

The spring of 1843 was marked by an addition to the work- 
ing force of the mission. Seyeral years before. Miss Fanny 
Hdggins had joined the family of her brother at Lac qui Parle, 
and had actively engaged in teaching. Now Miss Jane S. 
Williamson joined her brother's family, for the same purpose. 
Mr. BoBEBT Hopkins also and his then youthful wife joined the 
mission, Itnd were associated with Mr. Biggs and family in the 
formation of a new station at Traverse des Sioux. 

Here was experienced our first great sorrow. Thomas L. 
LoNGLEY, a brother of Mrs. Riggs, who had come out, in the 
strength of his opening manhood, to assist in erecting buildings 
at the new station, was drowned in the Minnesota River on the 
15th day of July. And by a strange coincidence, in July eight 
years afterwards, Mr. Hopkins was to be drowned not far from 
the same place. 

About this time and for eight years afterwaris the influence 
of St. Paul town become great over the Dakota Indians ; but it 
was in the way of furnishing them with fire vxxter. And the 
new station at Traverse des Sioux felt the effects of this more 
than other villages, being on the great route westward. 

Also in these years, as they passed, the opposition to schools 
seemed to increase. The provision for education which had 
been inserted in the treaty of 1837-^, proved only an obstacle 
ip the way of education; as unprincipled white men could 
persuade the Indians that if they sent their children to school, 
the missionaries would get their money. It was evident that 
there were men among them who desired, for some reason, to 
keep the Indians in ignorance. The toakan men among the 
Indians also were afraid for the supremacy of their stone gods. 
They were willing to entertain the Great Spirit or the white 
man's God, and give him a place among the gods ; but he must 
not assume the first place even On the other hand Christianity 
could make no compromise. It required the whole heart and 
the whole life for Jssus. 

So the mission worked on ; sometimes in gladness and some- 
times in sadness. There were times at Lac qui Parle when the 

soldiers (Diakotas) stopped the children from coming to school 
16 



122 KDnnCSOTA HISTOBICAL OOLLECnONS. 

and the women fh>m coming to church. Bat at every such 
time some one was raised up to withstand the power of heath- 
enism. Sometimes a portion of the Indians would determine 
on sending away the missionaries ; but another party was sure 
to rise, in a few days, to withstand them. Thus Jehotah 
brought to nought the counsels of the heathen. 

In the mean time His word was taking root. Some were 
learning to read and write. The number of native church 
members was increased slowly ; and there were many Vho were 
feeling their way up to a higher civilization. 

In the autumn of 1846 the mission held its annual meeting 
at Traverse des Sioux. This was one of the most important 
gatherings of the mission. A few months before LrrrLE Cbow 
had made application to Dr. Williahson, through the agent, 
to come and live at his village of Kaposia a few miles below 
St. Paul. After several days' discussion of that and kindred 
subjects connected with the mission, it was decided that Dr. 
Williamson accept the invitation and remove down immediately. 
This change made it necessary to send Mr. Rioos and family 
back to Lac qui Parle. Mr. Huogins waa to come down to the 
Traverse- and Mr. Jokas Pettijohk, who had joined the mission 
that year and married Miss FANirr Huggins, was to remain 
at Lac qui Parle as missionary farmer. 

Previous to this time Mr. Joseph Renville^ had died. He 
had been of great service to the mission in many ways. Could 
it prosper without him? 

In the spring following, that is the spring of 1847, at a 
meeting of the Dakota Presbyter}*^ held at Oak Grove, our 
preaching force was increased by the licensure of G. H. Pond 
and Robert Hopkins. They both talked the Dakota language 
and understood Dakota customs. Mr. Pond had now been 
among them thirteen years. 

In the summer of 1848 our force was further increased by 
the arrival of Rev. Moses N. Adaics and John F. Aiton with 
their wives. Joseph W. Hancock also came to the Red Wing 
station, and was afterwards licensed by the Dakota Presbytery. 
Rev. Joshua Potteb also was transferred to this field firom the 

1. A blographlosl sketoh of Kr. "Rkkyilue is giyen in the •Annals of the 
Minnesota Historioai Society for 1856, pace lOI.—W. 



THE DAKOTA MISSION. 123 

Choctftws. Mr. Pokd and Mr. Hopkins were ordained. Mr- 
S. W. Pond had before this commenced a station at Little 
Six's village at Shakopee. We were now occupying six 
stations, and strong in men. Mr. Adams went.to Lac qui Parle 
to learn the language, and Mr. ArroN was placed at Bed Wing, 
while Mr. Potter spent a year at Traverse des Sioux. 

Still although strong in laborers and occupying so many 
stations, the progress was slow, and the opposition great. 
There was no point where the gospel took root as it did at Lac 
qui Parle. There were a few church members at each of the 
stations, and occasionally a man who was not ashamed to be, 
partly at least, identified with the new religion ; but heathenism 
was everywhere the ruling element; and nowhere, except at 
Lac qui Parle, was there any considerable front of opposition 
against it. Many of the Dakotas desired to have a missionary 
resident at their village, because it brought them temporal 
advantages in various ways, but they sought not as yet the 
higher blessings which the gospel brings. 

By and by came the year 1851. This was memorable for 
various things — chiefly for the treaties that were made that 
year with the Dakotas and the results that followed. While 
they were gathering at Traverse des Sioux to make the first 
treaty of the summer, Mr. Hopkins was drowned. He went 
out to bathe on the morning of the 4th of July, and returned 
not again. 

Before this time Mr. Potteb had left the Dakotas and gone 
to the New York Indians. 

The treaties of this year resulted in the removal of all the 
lower villages of Dakotas up the Minnesota River. Both the 
Mr. Ponds remained where they were, and preached to the white 
people who came in. So also did Mr. Hancock. Mr. Adams 
removed from Lac qui Parle to Traverse des Sioux in 1853, and 
organized a church there among the white people. Mr. Huo* 
GINS and Mr. Pettuohn also withdrew from the service of the 
board. While Dr. Williamson and his family removed up to 
the Yellow Medicine and commenced there a new station. 

In the fall of 1851, Mr. Rioos visited New York city to 
superintend the printing of the Dakota Grammar and Diction- 



124 MINNBSOTA HISTOBICiX COLLECTIONS. 

ary, which was done by Smithsonian Instdtnte, " under the 
patronage of the Historical Society of Minnesota/' 

In the spring of 1854, the mission baildings at Lac qai Parle 
were homed to the ground. Thereupon the station was removed 
to Hazlewood, in the neighborhood of the Yellow Medicine. 
The preaching force was now reduced to Doctor WnxiAMSON 
and Mr. Bioos. But the changed circumstances of the Indians 
and the gathering of the civilized element together, now con- 
spired to growtii and development. The seeds which had 
been sown in previous years now commenced to germinate and 
to show themselves in a new life. The number of men who 
had changed their dress and adopted the white man's had so 
increased, that by forming a coalition with certain half-breeds 
they formed an independent band and elected their own presi- 
dent, who was recognized as a chief by the agent. 

The churches of Hazlewood and Pf^utaze both grew in num- 
bers and in character. At the new station at Hazlewood a 
neat church building was erected in the year 1855, costing 
about $700 — more than two-thirds of which was raised by the 
Indians and their fHends in the county. Many of these men, 
who constituted the Hazlewood Bepublic, built for themselves, 
with some assistance, comfortable frame and log houses. 

The Grovernment came in now and encouraged agriculture 
and the change of dress in the men. It required a good deal 
of courage, and some outside pressure also to get a man up to 
the point of parting with his hair and putting on pantaloons. 
But steadily the work went on, not without opposition it is 
true. Even Lfttle Crow often talked of becoming a white 
man, but there were always reasons which prevented. 

The Christian element among the Dakotas was chiefly gathered 
into the churches of Pajutaze and Hazlewood. A few were at 
the Lower Sioux Agency, and a few at the villages higher up 
on the Minnesota. 

In the summer of 1859, John P. Williahbon, then a student 
of Lane Seminary, Ohio, was licensed to preach the gospel by 
the Dakota Presbytery. And in the autumn of the next year 
be returned to Dakota land and commenced a station at the 
Lower Agency. A small church was organized there during 
the two years that followed, and a neat church building erected. 



THB DAKOTA MISSION. 125 

So the work progressed antil the time of the outbrei^ in 1862. 
We then had three charch organizations, containing an aggre- 
gate of aboat sixty-five native members, more than a third of 
whom were males. We had also commodioas houses of worship, 
which were generally well filled on the Sabbath. We had been 
edacatiDg them in benevolent effort, and for several years their 
contributions to foreign missions would compare favorably with 
those of churches in Christian* lands. 

We had also at this time a boarding school, at the Hazlewood 
Station, in which and in the other mission families were from 
eighteen to twenty scholars. Many of these had already 
learned to read and write and talk English. Mr. H. D. 
CuNNmoBAM was the steward of the boarding school. 

This was the state of the mission when in an unexpected 
hour the outbreak of August, 1862, burst upon us. There had 
been murmurings and surgings — there had been difiSculties which 
were hardly quite overcome. And perhaps we ought to have 
foreseen the storm. But we did not. Providentially Mr. John 
P. Williamson had ten days before started on to Ohio. Being 
stationed at the Lower Agency, where the killing commenced, 
he might have been in more danger than we were up at the 
Yellow Medicine. But we all escaped safely — protected by the 
shield of (xod. Mr. Amos W. Huooins, a son of the associate 
of Dr. Williamson at Lac qui Parle, was killed by the Indians 
at that same Lac qui Parle. He was employed as a government 
teacher. A good man, who had a heart and a hand to labor 
for the Dakotas, he has gone to his reward. 

The weeks that followed the 18th of August, 1862, were dark 
weeks. The Dakota mission was broken up— the missionaries 
had been obliged to fiee, and they had escaped only with the 
skin of their teeth — the mission houses and churches all plun- 
dered and burned to the ground — and the native church members 
scattered, perhaps worse than that— drawn or forced into the 
rebellion. White men said the Dakota mission was a failure — 
that if our teachings had been right, they would have prevented 
such an outbreak. We were dumb, because tkou, Lord, didst it I 

But the vindication was coining. Even now John Other 
Dat, a member of Dr. Williamson's church had helped away 
sixty-two persons from the Agency at the Yellow Medicine. 



126 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Our missionary party of forty-three were indebted for our 
escape to our Christian Indians, to an extent that we did not 
know of then. And while the troops under Gen. Siblst were 
at Fort Ridgely, making preparations to advance, SmoN Ana- 
WANTMANE camc iuto our lines with a white woman and three 
children who had been taken captive by the hostile diouz. 
SiMoif was an elder in the Hazlewood church. A few days 
after this Lobenzo Lawbence, a member of the same church, 
brought down by canoes Mrs. DeCamp and her children and 
also a half-breed family. And when the battle of Wood Lake 
had been fought and our troops reached '^Camp Release," 
nearly one hundred captive white women and children were 
delivered up. The majority of these were in the hands of the 
Christian Indians — ^having been procured from the hostile party 
by purchase or otherwise. It further appeared that the mem- 
bers of our churches had, with but a few exceptions, kept 
themselves aloof from participation in the uprising. But that 
was not all. It was moreover satisfactorily established that 
they had, from the beginning, resisted and withstood the 
rebellion, and they were the nucleus around which gathered 
and strengthened the counter revolution, which gave success to 
our campaign. 

So God's word and work were vindicated. But He had 
mercies along with the judgments, in store for the Dakotas. 
And these mercies could come to them only by breaking down 
their pride and casting them down to the ground. 

Of the men who came into our hands by the surrender at 
Camp Release, more than three-fourths were Mdwakantonwans 
or Lower Sioux, who had generally refused education and the 
new religion. But now in their distress, they not only 
acknowledged the superior power of the white man, but their 
religion had been at fault — ^the gods had failed them. The 
education which they had before despised, they how gladly 
accepted. The prison at Mankato in the winter of 1862-8, was 
turned into a great school room. Among the prisoners were 
a few who had learned to read and finite their own language. 
These became the teachers of the more than three hundred 
men confined there. In a few WBeks two-thirds of these men had 
so far learned to read and write that they were writing letters 



THE DAKOTA MISSIOK. 127 

• 

to their families and Mends at Fort Snelling. And what was 
done in the prison was done also in the camp. Bat the edaca- 
tional movement in the camp, among the women and children 
at Fort Snelling, was not so universal and absorbing as at 
Mankato. More readers of the word of 6o]> were made daring 
this one winter, than had been made by the combined efforts of 
the mission for more than a quarter of a century. We looked 
on and said, " How easy it is for GrOD to work." 

Along with this educational movement was another still 
more remarkable. Dr. .Williaxson had commenced visiting 
and preaching to the convicts immediately after they were 
brought down to Mankato. A good deal of interest was man- 
ifested. Some individuals indicated a determination to change 
their religion. But it was not until after the executions that any 
general and deep interest was manifested. The Sabbath after 
the executions was the first time the prisoners were let out 
into the prison yard. They were still chained two and two 
together, except a few who had been fbr special reasons 
unchained. There was snow on the ground. But in that prison 
yard they gathered around Mr. Riogs, and stood a great con- 
gregation to praise Jehovah and to pray unto him and hear 
his word. 

The interest increased. Dr. Williamson continued to visit 
them. About mid-winter Mr. G. H. Pond received an invita- 
tion, from Indians with whom he was acquainted years before, 
to visit them in prison. He went up and spent a week or ten 
days at Mankato. During this time frequent daily meetings 
were held in the prison by Dr. Williamson and Mr. Ponb. 
The whole multitude then and there abdicated their old religion 
and embraced the gospel. They wished to be baptized. And 
the brethren, after consultation with Mr. Hicks, the Presbyterian 
minister in Mankato, and subjecting them to such examination 
and instruction as was possible with such a number, proceeded 
to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, about two hundred and fifty persons. Some, who 
preferred the Episcopal service, preferred to be baptized by 
Mr. HiNMAN. A few others were afterwards baptized by us. 

During the winter there was a somewhat similar religious 
movement in the camp at Fort Snelling. John P. Williamson 



12H MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIOKS. 

was with them constantly and Mr. Bioos occasionally. Nearly 
one hundred persons were duly examined and received to the 
sealing ordinances of the church in the camp. A number also 
became connected with the Episcopalians. 

*' So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." 

In the spring of 1863, the camp at Fort Snelling were, with 
the exception of about twenty families, removed to the Missouri 
River and located at Fort Thompson. The families exempted 
firom removal to the Missouri were taken up to the frontiers — 
the men to be employed as scouts for the military. In this 
company arc Paul and SiifOK and A. Renvillb and Napa-shns- 
DOOTB, four of the six elders of our mission churches. Johk B. 
Renvillk, another elder, removed with his family to St. Anthony. 

The prisoners at Mankato were transferred to Camp 
McClellan, at Davenport, Iowa. 

Within the neaily two years that have since passed about 
one hundred more have, at various places, but chiefly at the 
prison and at Fort Thompson, been received to church fellow- 
ship. So that now, deducting for deaths and backsliders, 
there are about four hundred Dakotas who are connected with 
our mission church. 

Young Mr. Williamson has identified himself with the work 
on the Missouri, and has for his assistants at Fort Thompson, 
Mr. Edwabd Pond, son of Mr. 6. H. Pond, who married Mart 
Feancbs Hopkins, daughter of Mr. B. Hopkins, who was 
drowned at Traverse des Sioux. 

The wonderful progress in education made since the outbreak 
has ^created a large demand for books, which for a time we 
could poorly meet. But several books have recently been pre- 
pared and electrotyped, which will give them a better supply 
than they have had before. 

There are, first, a new School Primer; second, a Dakota 
Catechism ; third. Precept upon Precept, translated by Mr. 
John Renvillb; and lastly. The New Testament, with the 
books of Grenesis and Proverbs from the Old. 

What the future will be we cannot tell. But we can safely 
say, thus far the Dakota mission has not been a failure. The 
Lord has wrought wonderfully for His own Name's sake, r 

St. Anthony^ February^ 1866. 



INDIAN WARFARE IN MINNESOTA. 



BY REV. 8. W. POND. 



The following is a brief account of the battles fought between 
the Dakotas of the Mississippi and Minnesota and their 
enemies, and the numbers killed on both sides in the course of 
ten years, commencing in 1885. It is not a relation of events 
of great importance in themselves, but it is a fragment of 
Minnesota history, and may, at some ftitnre time be read with 
more interest than at present. I consider it of little value 
except as it may afford some help to any who may hereafter 
wish to form a correct idea of the nature and ordinary results 
of Indian warfare. 

This paper is little more than a copy of a record which I 
kept for many years, of the number of Dakotas killed by their 
enemies, and the number of their enemies killed by them, so 
far as it could be ascertained. There may have been some 
killed of whom I have no account, — ^probably there were, — ^but 
not many. Whenever an Indian was killed by a war party, 
the event, with the attending circumstances, was soon reported 
throughout the country, and for a long time furnished an 
interesting topic of conversation. And the report was generally 
correct, for the Indians were not in the habit of concealing 
their own loss, nor of exaggerating that of the enemy. 

The memorandum which I kept would have been made more 
fhll and interesting, if I had had any thoughts of making it 
public. Some defects in it I must supply from memory, and 
there may be some inaccuracies in this paper. I do not intend 
to have it contain any grave errors, and shall not draw on my 
imagination for the sake of making it interesting. 



.'. 



130 lONNKSOTA HI8T0KICA;« 00LLBCTION8. 

In recording the losses by war I shall give the number killed 
in each year by itself, beginning with 

1885. — ^In June, a party of Chippewas coming down the 
Mississippi on a peaceable visit to Fort Snelling, were waylaid 
and one of their number killed by the Dakotas. The murderers 
were arrested the next spring by the military at Fort Snelling. 
« 1836. — ^In March, a war part}* from Bed Wing killed one 
Chippewa. About the same time a Sac Indian was killed by 
Jack Frazier, a half-breed from Bed Wing. 

1837.— Thirteen Warpekute Dakotas were killed by the 
Sacs. 

1838. — In the spring, a Dakota of Wabasha's band was 
killed on the Chippewa Biver in Wisconsin, by the Chippewas. 
They were pursued by the Dakotas and five of them killed. In 
April, eleven Dakotas were treacherously slain near the 
Chippewa Biver, about thirty miles from Lac qui Parle, by the 
Chippewas, led by the celebrated Holb-in^hb-Dat. The 
Chippewas pretended to be on a friendly visit to the Dakotas, 
and lay down with them in their tents, but rose on them in the 
night and killed them. The next day, my brother, G. H. Pond, 
aided by an Indian named Tate-mime, gathered the scattered 
fragments of their mutilated bodies and buried them. 

In July, about three months after the massacre, Holb-in-^he- 
Day, with two or three others, made a visit to Fort Snelling. 
He went first to Patrick Quinn's, who lived by the Mississippi, 
about a mile above Fort Snelling, and whose wife was a half- 
breed Chippewa. The Dakotas of the Lake Calhoun band 
heard of his arrival, and started out in a body to kill him, but 
the agent, Maj. Taliaferbo, persuaded them to turn back, 
giving them leave to kill him, if they could, on his way home. 
The Dakotas seemed disposed to take the agent's advice and 
started for home, but two of them whose relatives had been 
killed a short time before near Lac qui Parle, hid themselves 
near Quinn's, and in the evening, as Hole-in-thb-Dat was 
passing with his companions from Quinn's house to another 
near by, they killed one of them and wounded another, but the 
chief escaped, having exchanged some of his clothes or orna- 
ments with another of his party who was mistaken for him. 
One of the Dakotas was badly wounded. They were both 



INDIAN WARFARE IN IflNNESOTA. 131 

confined in the fort a while, but were finally released on con- 
dition that their Mends should chastise them severely in the 
presence of the garrison. 

1839. — July 2nd, a son-in-law of the chief of tiie Lake 
Calhoun band was waylaid and killed near Lake Harriet by two 
Chippewas, said to be sons or step-sons of the man who was 
shot at Quikn's the summer before. They belonged to Hols- 
in-thb-Day's band. 

A few days before this man was killed, several bands of 
Chippewas, consisting of men, women and children, met* at 
Fort Snelling to transact business with the ofl9cers of the 
garrison. Hols-in-the-Dat and his people came down the 
Mississippi in canoes. The Mille Lacs band came across by 
land, and others came down the St. Croix and up the Mississippi. 
They all started for home at the same time, each party return- 
ing by the way it came. 

The Mille Lacs Indians and those who came down the 
Mississippi, encamped the first night at the Falls of St. Anthony, 
and some of the Dakotas who paid them a visit there complained 
to Maj. Taliafbrro that the Chippewas treated them in a rude, 
unfriendly manner. He advised them not to retaliate, but gave 
them permission to avenge themselves in case any of their 
nnmbier were killed. The report of the insulting and injurious 
manner in which some of the Dakotas had been treated by tlic. 
Chippewas at the falls, spread rapidly among them, producing 
much excitement and preparing them for what followed. 

The day after the Chippewas left the falls on their return 
home, two men belonging to the party which came down tht; 
Mississippi, lay in ambush by the side of a path near Lake 
Harriet, and killed a Dakota as before stated. While the 
Chippewas were at the fort, two of them belonging to the band 
of Hole-in/ehs-Dat, were seen wailing over the grave of the 
Chippewa who was killed at Quinn's the year before. The 
Dakotas had no doubt that these two men had killed the Dakota 
at Lake Harriet. They also believed, and were right in their 
belief, that none of the Chippewas, except those who came down 
the Mississippi, knew that these men had remained behind. 
They determined, therefore, not to follow Hole-in-the-Dat, 
who would be watching and probably ready for them, but to 



132 MINNEaOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

parsne the Mille Lacs and St. Croix Indians, who would suspect 
no danger. The agent had already given them permission to 
retaliate in case any of them shonld be killed. The military at 
Fort Snelling had no time to interfere, and such an opportunity 
as they now had for taking a terrible vengeance does not often 
offer itself in the course of Indian warfare. When the chief, 
whose son-in-law was killed, told me that he should follow the 
Mille Lacs party because they would be ignorant of the danger 
and unprepared for the encounter, he expressed some regret 
that the innocent should die for the guilty, but probably" neither 
he nor any who went with him were less active or cruel in the 
work of destruction on account of any scruples of conscience. 
They were violating no rules of Indian warfare. The Mille 
Lacs Indians were Chippewas, and they were Chippewas who 
two years before had been guQty of the treacherous and 
cowardly massacre of the Dakotas near Lac qni Parle. 

The same day that the man was killed at Lake Harriet, nearly 
all the able-bodied men of the Shakopee, Eagle Head, Good 
Boad, Black Dog and Lake Calhoun bands assembled at the 
Falls of St. Anthony, and orders were there given by the leaders 
that no captives should be taken. 

They overtook the Chippewas on the morning of the Fourth 
of July before daylight, but kept themselves concealed, and 
did not commence the attack until some time after sunrise. 
They knew the Chippewas had no provisions, and that the 
hunters would be under the necessity of leaving the rest of the 
party to hunt for food. 

They therefore waited until some time after the hunters had 
left the camp, and until the women and the few men who were 
with them had started on their journey with their baggage on 
their backs before they attacked them. 

The Dakotas raised the war-whoop, but they said the Chippe- 
was did not at first seem to realize their danger, they stood a 
while with their burdens on their backs gazing on their pur- 
suers as though they did not know what to think of them. 
The Chippewas were thus taken by surprise, wholly unprepared, 
and about seventy of them were killed. The slain were most 
of them women and children. The few men who were present 
defended the women and children bravely, and sold their lives 



INDIAN WARFARE IN KINNBSOTA. 133 

dearly. After discharging their pieces they would reti*eat far 
enough to reload, and then stand again on the defensive, aqd 
continued to do so till they were killed. The Dakotas lost 
more men in that attack than they killed. 

Most of the young women escaped, the Dakotas being too 
much exhausted by their forced march to overtake them. The 
Chippewa hunters did not get to the scene of action soon 
enough to take any part in the fight, and the Dakotas avoided 
a conflict with them by a hasty retreat. 

At the same time the Kaposia band pursued the Chippewas 
who returned by the way of the Mississippi and St. Croix, and 
found them engaged in a drunken revel. Mr. Aitkik, a well 
known trader, was with them. They killed about twenty-five 
of them. At first there seemed likely to be a great slaughter 
among the drunken Chippewas, but the excitement and alarm 
seemed to sober them, and they finally repulsed the assailants, 
and pursued them some distance on their retreat. In both 
these attacks the Dakotas lost twenty-three men ; the Chippe- 
was nearly a hundred — most of them women and children. 

1840. — In March, seven Dakotas from Bed Wing killed a 
Chippewa woman and her two sons. 

June 17th, a Dakota named Lonofoot and his wife were 
killed by Chippewas on the right bank of the Mississippi, near 
the mouth of the brook between Mendota and St. Paul. This 
year the Potawatomies killed two Dakota women near, the Blue 
Earth Biver, and carried off two children. 

During the summer a war party from Wabasha fell in with 
a war party of Chippewas, and two were killed on each side. 

1841. — ^April 8th, three Chippewas came down the Mississippi 
in a canoe which they left between the Falls of St. Anthony 
and Minnehaha, and hid themselves in the night, in some 
bushes, on the bank of the river, near a foot path, about a 
mile above Fort Snelling. The next morning as Kai-bo-kah, 
a Dakota chief, with his son and another Indian, was passing 
by the place where the Chippewas lay in ambush, they killed 
his son and mortally wounded him. The Chippewas did not 
stay te take their scalps. I was on the spot before either of 
the men were dead, and saw the Chippewas. leave the place 
loading their guns as they ran. 



134 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLFXTIONS. 

May nth, a war party from Kaposia fell in with two Chippe- 
^as and killed one of them, but lost two of Big Thunder's 
sons. Bio Thunder was the chief of the Kaposia Indians and 
father of Little Crow. 

May 16th, a large war party from the Lake Calhoun, Good 
Road and Black Dog bands killed two Chippewa girls at 
Pokegama and lost two of their own men. In July a war 
party from Kaposia killed a Chippewa below the mouth of the 
St. Croix. In the course of the summer, five Dakotas who went 
out against the Potawatomies, were all killed. 

In the fall, the Dakotas from Petit Rocher (near Fort 
Ridgely) killed thirteen Potawatomies. About the same time 
two Dakotas from Lac qui Parle were killed by Chippewas In 
the night while they were out on a hunting expedition. 

Near the same time a war party from Lac qui Parle had one 
of their number killed. 

1842. — March 14th, a war party from Kaposia killed one 
Chippewa and lost one Dakota, a son of Eagle Head, a chief. 

In June, the Chippewas made an attack on Big Thunder's 
band at Kaposia and killed ten men, two women and one child. 
They lost four in the fight. In the fall the Chippewas killed 
one Dakota near Lac Travers. 

. 1843. — In April, the Chippewas killed a Dakota child near 
Kandiyohi. 

In June, a Chippewa war party killed two Dakotas at the 
fording place of the Chippewa River, near Lac qui Parle. 

About the same time the Dakotas killed a Chippewa on Rum 
River, and lost one of their own men. 

1844. — ^In the winter, Hole-in-thb-Dat's band killed a Lac 
qui Parle Indian. 

In April, four Dakotas from Little Rapids (Carver) killed a 
Chippewa opposite the mouth of Rum River. 

I continued to keep a record of the numbers slain on both 
sides so long as the Indians remained in this region ; but what 
I have here given is sufi3cient to show the nature and ordinary 
results of Indian warfare as it was carried on in Minnesota. 
The Indians spent a great deal of time in war, but their 
attempts to kill their enemies were not often very successfhl. 



INDIAN WARFAKB IN MINNESOTA. 135 

A very large majorify of war parties returned without scalps, 
and of such parties I have kept no record. 

Small parties were usually more successful than large ones, 
as they could move with more celerity and secrecy. If the 
party was small it generally withdrew precipitately, after 
striking a single blow, or as soon as the enemy was alarmed 
whether it had succeeded in taking a scalp or not. If the 
party was a very strong one, and supplied with provisions, it 
might, after killing one or more, wait a while for an attack, but 
it was not the practice of the Indians, after having taken one 
or more scalps, to go on farther in quest of more, or remain 
in the enemies' country after being discovered. 

No matter how many were in a war party, nor lu>w far they 
had traveled in pursuit of the enemy, if a single scalp was 
taken the expedition was not considered a failure. Dakota 
war parties were seldom led by the chiefs, though they some 
times accompanied them. 'They were led by volunteers, who 
claimed to receive their commission by revelation from some 
superior being who commanded them to make war, and promised 
them success. When such a leader offered himself, the warriors 
could do as they pleased about following him. If they had 
confidence in his abilities, or credentials, he could raise a large 
party. If not, he could get few followers. His office lasted 
only during the time of the expedition. Sometimes a few 
young men started off to look for scalps without the usual 
formalities and without a leader. Such small unauthorized 
parties were quite as likely to be successful as any. 

It will be seen by the above record that the Indians seldom 
fought sanguinary battles. They had no desire to fight battles 
where the forces on both sides were nearly equal. Such battles 
they carefully avoided. If two war parties met, as they some- 
times did, the meeting was accidental. In such a case there 
might be a little skirmishing, but seldom severe fighting. It 
was not their custom to look for armed men who were prepared 
to receive them. 

Since I have lived at Shakopee, the Chippewas killed a 
Dakota as he was in his canoe fishing in the river near my 
house. The event was immediately known, but though this was 
a strong band, much stronger than any war party of Chippewas 



136 MINKE80TA HISTORICAL COLLBCTION8. 

was likely to be, they did not venture to attack them. The 
Chippewas spent the night not far from here, and though the 
Dakotas followed them a little way the next day, they were 
careful not to overtake them. 

At another time two men went over the river to hunt, and 
one of them soon returned and reported that his companion had 
been killed very near here by the Chippewas, yet they all 
waited twenty-four hours before they ventured to bring home 
the dead body. In both these cases they were afraid of being 
drawn into ambush by a strong party of the enemy. 

They behaved differently when they were attacked here by 
Chippewas in the spring of 1858, but they were then encouraged 
by the pres^ce of many white men, and perhaps were ashamed 
to refhse to cross the river and attack the enemy while so many 
spectators were looking on. 

When the Dakota was killed at Lake Harriet, I was there a 
few minutes after he was killed, and saw in the tall grass the 
trail of the Chippewas leading to a small cluster of young 
poplars. There were no tracks leading from the grove, and all 
knew that they were there. We afterwards learned that they 
remained there till dark. I urged the Indians to try to kill 
them, but though there were as many as fifty armed Dakotas, 
they refhsed to go near them, and leaving them to escape, 
started off in pursuit of the Mllle Lacs Indians. 

Indeed Indians consider it foolhardiness to make an attack 
where it is certain that some of them will be killed. 

Bloody battles were seldom fought by them except when the 
party attacked rallied and made an unexpected resistance. 
They occasionally performed exploits which none but brave 
men would undertake, and often fought with desperate valor in 
self-defence or in defence of their families. 

From the list of the slain which I have given, it will appear 
that the Indian warfare in this region for ten years, commenc- 
ing in 1885, was not attended with any very great destruction 
of human life, yet from what could be gathered from their own 
traditions it was a fair specimen of what their wars had been 
from time immemoiial. Both Chippewas and Dakotas com- 
plained that the efforts of our Government to promote peace 
between the two tribes, rendered their oondition more insecure 



INDIAN WABFilRE IN lONNKflOTA. 137 

than when each one was left to take care of himself. That 
precarioos peace often exposed them to dangers which in a 
state of open war they would have aroided. 

When Col. Snsllino was in command at the fort he inflicted 
summary punishment on several Dakotas who had fired on a 
company of Chippewas who were encamped under the walls 
of Fort Snelling. They were arrested and handed over to the 
Chippewas, who shot them by the river, just above the fort, and 
their dead bodies were thrown over the precipice by the soldiers 
of the garrison. 

This prompt and severe act of Col. Snellino's made a salu- 
tary impression on the minds of both Chippewas and Dakotas, 
and for a time there was a suspension of hostilities, at least among 
those Indians who lived at no great distance from the fort. 
But the war was gradually renewed, and from 1835 onward 
there were probably, including the massacre on Rum River, 
quite as many killed as there would have been if there had 
been no United States troops in the country. 

Such a slaughter as that of the Mille Lacs Indians could 
hardly have been in the ordinary course of Indian warfare. 
The Chippewas would not have brought their women and chil- 
dren into the heart of the enemies' country and left them 
unprotected, if they had not depended ou the garrison at the 
fort for protection. There was another thing which caused the 
death of many whose lives would have been spared, if our 
Government had left the Indians to prosecute their wars in 
their own way. They were compelled to restore all captives 
taken in war, and they preferred scalps around which they 
could dance, to captives whom they could not retain. This was 
the avowed reason, and doubtless the true reason why none of 
the MlUe Lacs Indians were captured. For many years, with 
very few exceptions, neither Dakotas nor Chippewas spared 
any of their enemies who fell into their hands, and this 
indiscriminate slaughter of all women and children would 
materially increase the number of the slain. 

I think we may reasonably conclude that the loss of life in 

the war carried on between the Dakotas and their enemies, was 

not much, if any less, most of the time after Fort Snelling was 

built, than it was before. We know that Indian wars have 
18 



138 MINNESOTA UI9T0RICAJ. COLLBCTION8. 

sometimes been very destructive of human life. Weak tribes 
have been nearly exterminated. Bat these cases were rare. 
Indian wars are prosecuted with the utmost caution on both 
sides. Even war parties are very carefhl to keep out of danger, 
and every child is taught from infancy to be always on guard 
against the wiles of the enemy. This constant watchfulness 
renders it very difficult to take them by surprise. No indica- 
tion of the proximity of an enemy is unheeded. Every unusual 
alarm among beasts or birds is noticed, and every suspicious 
track is carefully examined. Such suspicious, incessant watch- 
fulness is the source of many false alarms, but it tends greatly 
to their security, so that though the Indians spend much time 
in war, they spend most of that time in vain, and as I have 
said before, a large majority of war parties return without 
scalps. 

The Dakotas had traditionary accounts of very few battles 
where many were killed, yet such an event, if it occurred, 
would not be soon forgotten. They often spoke of an attack 
made by the Chippewas long ago, on a party of Dakotas who 
were encamped by the Mississippi, where Prescott now stands, 
in which many Dakotas were killed. Also of a very successful 
winter campaign made by them against the Chippewas some 
seventy or eighty years ago. But they told of very few great 
battles or great slaughters, and had preserved no definite 
account of the number killed. It is probable that some years, 
perhaps often, they lost more by murder and suicide than by 
war. 

Some persons who have resided in this country during the 
last thirty-five or forty years, will remember many interesting 
incidents connected with Indian hostilities, and if any of them 
read this paper they may wonder why so many of these events 
are passed over in silence. But to relate them all with any 
particularity would require a large volume, and my purpose 
was only to write a short article. 

Shakopeey Mardi, 1870. 



FORT SNELLING. 

COL. LEAVENWORTH'S EXPEDITION TO ESTABLISH 

IT, IN 1819. 

BY MAJ. THOMAS FORSYTH, INDIAN AGENT. 



NOTE BY THE COBfMITTEE ON PUBLICATION. 

The accompanying valnable and interesting narrative was first 
published In the Wisconsin Historical Collections in 1872, bat as it 
closely relates to Minnesota History, it is too important to pass by 
without including it in the publications of this Society. We have 
retained most of the foot notes of Dr. Lyman C. Draper, the editor 
of the publications of the Wisconsin Historical Society (whose re- 
search and learning In the department of Western hlstoiy are perhaps 
unequalled,) and have added some additional notes that seemed 
necessary. 

Concerning the author of the narrative. Dr. Draper says : 

MaJ. Thomas Forsyth was bom in Detroit, Dec. 5, 1771. His 
father, Wm. Forsyth, was fk'om Blackwater itown, Ireland; the 
family was originally Scotch, and Presbyterians. Wm. Forsyth 
migrated to .New Yorlc about 1750, and was under Gen. Wolfe at the 
capture of Quebec in 1759, and was twice wounded in the conflict, and 
was subsequently stationed In Detroit. On the expiration of his term 
of service, he settled there, and married the widow Kinzie, grand- 
mother of the late John H. Kinzie, of Chicago. He long kept a tavern, 
and engaged in trading; and during the Revolution, sympathising 
with the Americans, he was for a long time imprisoned, with James 
Abbot, but finally liberated. He died at Detroit about 1790, leaving 
several children, among them the subject of this sketch. Thomas 
Forsyth engaged whUe yet young in the Indian trade, and spent sev- 
eral winters on Saginaw Bay, and, as early as 1798, wintered on an 
island in the Mississippi, four or five miles below Quincy, near the 
mouth of the Fabius. His first partner In trading was one Richard- 
son, and then his step-son, John Kinzie, and Robekt Forsyth; and 
about 1802, they established a trading post at Chicago. About 1804, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Keziah Malotte, near Maiden, 
and subsequently settled as a trader at Feoria. MaJ. Forsyth, in his 
Journal, speaks with honest indignation against the capture of him- 
self, family and the French people of Feoria, in 1812, by Capt. Craio. 

After the war, MaJ. Forsyth was many years Indian Agent for the 

Sauks and Foxes ; and had he been continued over them, it is believed, 

the Sauk war of 1882 would never have occurred. He died at St. 

Louis, Oct. 29, 1883, in the sixty-second year of his age, his wife 

19 



140 MTNKESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLBCTIONS. 

baying four years preceded him to the grave. They had three sods 
and oDe daughter ; only the second child, Col. Robert Forsyth, sur- 
vives, on his fine farm near St. Louis. From him the Journal now 
published, and many important documents concerning the Sauks and 
Foxes, were obtained. MaJ. Thomas Forsyth, in his long connec- 
tion with Indian affairs, and by his writings on the hi.story of Indian 
tribes of the North West, rendered his country important service. 



Hi^ving received instructions ft-om the Department of War, 
to ship on board a steamboat destined to transport provisions, 
etc., for an establishment to be made at the mouth of St. 
Peter's river, a certain quantity of goods, say $2,000 worth, to 
be delivered b> me to the Sioux Indians residing on the Mis- 
sissippi above Prairie du Chien, and those who reside on the 
lower part of river St. Peter's, in payment of lands ceded by 
the Sioux Indians to the late Gen. Pike for the United States. 
The owners of the steamboats, finding it was impracticable to 
navigate such craft on the upper parts of the Mississippi river, 
changed their plans, and commenced transporting the provi- 
sions in keel boats. Finding that no steamboats could get up 
the different rapids, and that the contractor had commenced to 
employ keels, I hired a boat and crew, bought provisions, and 
was ready by the third of June, but some of my men having 
received some money in advance, they thought proper to go 
out of the way, by which means I was detained until the 
seventh, when I got a crew together, and sent them out of town 
to be prepared for next morning. 

Tuesday, 8th June. About sunset I hoisted sail, and had a 
fine breeze all day ; found the water uncommonly high for the 
season, the current strong, yet we made an excellent day's 
journey, having come 27 miles. 

Wednesday, 9th. Called at Portage des Sioux to enquire 
of Mr. Lb Claire if he had heard from A. B.^ ; breakfasted 
with him and proceeded on, encamped about three miles above 
mouth of Illinois river ; distance to-day 18 miles. 

Thursday, 10th. Met six discharged soldiers from the Rifle 
Regiment at Prairie du Chien, descending the Mississippi in a 

1 Probably the Mr. Bboitn who Joined the party on the 18th. L. C. D. 



MAJ. fobstth's narratite. 141 

canoe ; wind fair but light ; encamped at sundown above Cap 
au Gre ; distance to-day 30 miles. 

Friday, llth. Set out early this morning with a fair wind ; 
it soon came around ahead ; we encamped within 15 miles of 
Clarksville ; distanc e to-day 24 miles. 

Saturday, 12th. The water continues high, and current 
strong ; no bottom for poles in places ; arrived at Clarksville 
in the afternoon ; remained there all night. Came to-day fifteen 
miles. 

Sunday, 13th. Mr. Brown embarked on board to go up to 
Fort Edwards ; wind fair ; saw several lodges of Indians at 
Louisianaville ; some followed us and came on board, insisted 
on getting some liquor, they being already half drunk. Dis* 
tance to-day, thirty-six miles. 

Monday, 14th, Visited Hannibal in passing ; a fair wind 
sprung up. Pleasant in the forenoon ; thunder, with rain in 
the afternoon. Stopped at Two Rivers. Saw some lowas ; 
got some venison from them. Encamped at Wa-con-daw 
Prairie. Distance to-day thirty-six miles. 

Tuesday, 15th. Thunder and rain ; wind fair occasionally, 
but light. Encamped within nine miles of Fort Edwards ; 
came about forty miles to-day. 

Wednesday, 16th. Ari'ived at Fort Edwards. Delivered 
several articles to Mr. Bbtt and others, brought up from St. 
Louis for them ; stayed there about three hours, and was much 
disappointed in not being a magistrate, there being a couple 
very anxious of being married. I really pitied their case. 
Some Sacs and Iowa Indians have planted corn near the Fort 
where they reside, and they go occasionally down to the settle- 
ments, bring up whisky, get drunk and insult those who reside 
in the fort. A few troops would be well stationed at this place, 
as it would keep the Indians in awe, and might be the occasion 
of preventing many accidents. Understood that many Sacs 
had gone to Detroit ; encamped at sundown about the middle 
of the Rapids. Distance to-day eighteen miles. 

Thursday, 17th. Set out early ; met Madam Boilvin^ near 
upper end of Rapids ; she is going down to St. Louis for her 

1 NioHoxjLD BoiLYiN was Indian Agent and Magistrate at Prairie da Ghien at that 
time. He died in May, 1827. W. 



142 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLKCTIONS. 

m 

health. Wind fair part of the day; encamped opposite the 
Arrowstone Prairie. Thirty-two miles to-day. 

Friday, 18th. Wind hard against us ; made only 15 miles 
to-da5\ 

Saturday, 19th. The waters apparently higher here than 
below ; weather very warm ; wind light but ahead ; musquitoes 
worse than I ever saw them. Made only 21 miles to-day ; en- 
camped above the first Yellow Banks. 

Sunday, 20th. Weather still ver}' warm ; had the sail up and 
down several times. Met Mr. Davenport's men returning 
home to St. Louis. Met the Black Thunder and some fol- 
lowers, all Foxes, going down to St. Louis in three canoes ; 
they immediately returned when they met me ; encamped a 
little above the Iowa river ; 18 miles was this day's progress. 

Monday, 21st. We were off by time this morniog ; three 
Saukies overtook us on their way from hunting, bound up to 
their village on Rocky river ; current strong to-day — made only 
24 miles ; encamped at upper end of Grand Mascoutin. 

Tuesday, 22d. The men have been complaining of the 
length of the days. I told them that this was the longest day 
of the year, and of course every day afterwards would be 
shorter. They said they were glad to hear such good news, 
and wished to know how I knew this. Made 27 miles to-day. 

Wednesday, 28d. Being detained yesterday awhile by a 
head wind, I was not able to reach Fort Armstrong, and one 
of the men still being sick retarded the progress of the boat ; 
indeed a strong current to stem, a bad going boat, and one man 
sick, makes tedious work. I arrived at Fort Armstrong about 
12 o'clock, and sent for the Fox and Sac chiefs to meet me 
next morning to receive their annuities. 

Thursday, 24th. The chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes arrived 
this moraing, and delivered their annuities. I then informed 
them that the white man, who killed the Indians near Bear 
Creek last winter, was committed to jail for trial, yet I had no 
objection to make a present to the relatives of the deceased 
Indians. The chiefs were much pleased with all this. Towards 
evening the whole began to disperse, and what astonished me 
much, not a soul asked for a dram, as I well knew there were 



MAJ. fobstth's narrative. 143 

I 

many wet booIs among them, particularly my old acquaintance 

QUASH-QX7A-MIE. 

Friday, 25th. Early this morning two Indians, accompanied 
by the Lakck^ and Quash-qua-mie,' came to me, and were 
pointed out by the latter as being the brothers of the Indian 
who was killed near Bear Greek last winter by S. Thompson, to 
whom I gave some goods, observing to them that those goods 
now lying before them were to cover their dead brother, and if 
they thought they could not forget the death of their brother, 
not to accept of the goods ; if, on the contrary, they accepted 
the goods, they must forever forget the injury, and not to say 
hereafter, ^* an American killed my brother/' This they agreed 
to in presence of their chiefs, the Lance and Quash-qua-mie. 
Immediately embarked and set out ; the old Lance came a few 
miles with me, and I gave the old man a few little things for 
his own familv, for which he was very thankful. Several other 
canoes with Indians on board of them followed me a consid- 
erable distance, asking for every thing they could think of. To 
each I had to give a little — they were principally Foxes ; by 
which means I was much retarded, and as the Mississippi was 
raising, the current was very strong and the boatmen labored 
very hard, and at sundown I had got half way up the Rapids 
-—distance 9 miles. 

Saturday, 26th. We set out early and found the upper part 



1 Shaii-«a, or Th4 LancB of the Missouri band of Saaks. L. C. D. 

2 QuABK-QUA-Mn, OF the Jumping FUh^ was a chief of some note among the Saiiks, 
of the Mlssoari band. He signed the treaty of 1804 at St. Louis, by which a large 
tract of country of the Sauks east of the Mississippi, comprehending about fifty 
millions of acres, were ceded to the United States. Black Hawk and others of the 
Rock River bands stoutly protested that the chiefls were drunk and knew not what 
they did, and the nation was not properly represented, and proved the origin of 
many difficulties, and probably of the alienation of the Rock river Sauks in the war 
of 1813. QuASH-QUA-xiB's band aimed to remain neutral during the war, but it is 
probable that some of the young warriors got drawn into it. Quabh-qua-xib 
signed the treaties at Portage Des Sioux, in September, 1810; that at Fort Arm- 
strong, in September, 1882: and at Prairie dn Chien, in August, 1835. The last 
ch%rge of distributing rations to him by Ma). Forstth, the Indian agent, was in 
1829; and he died opposite Clarksville, Missouri, about the commencement of 1880. 
He evidently was not living in July of that year, when the treaty with his people 
was held at Prairie du Chien, as his name does not appear among the signatures. 
He is represented by those who knew him as not tall, but heavily formed; not intel- 
lectual, nor did he appear to possess any of the traits of a noble warrior. He was a 
great beggar, of little influence among his people, with a character not always Aree 
Arom tarnish. L. C. D. 



} 



144 KIKKESOTA HISTORIOiX COLLECTIONS. 

of the Rapids very difficult to ascend. I stopped a while at 
the Little Fox village, 9 miles above the Rapids, gave them a 
few goods; they pressed me much for some whisky, but I 
refused them, saying I did not mean to give any Indians any 
liquor, as it occasioned them to do mischief. Came to-day 
about 22 miles. 

Sunday, 27th. Yesterday being the warmest day I had ex- 
perienced since I left St. Louis, last night was equally bad for 
musquitoes, for I did not sleep half an hour all night. We set 
out early this morning, and with the assistance of a side wind 
a few hours in the afternoon, we encamped at the lower end of 
Ground Apple Prairie — distance to-day, 24 miles. 

Monday, 28th. I set out as usual early, but the water close 
along shore becoming too deep for the poles, the men had to 
pull along by the bushes, which was slow traveling ; we made 
out, however, to come to-day eighteen miles, which is well 
employing the time, considering the heavy gusts of rain we 
experienced almost all the forenoon. 

Tuesday, 29th. Much rain fell last night and this morning. 
I had the sail hoisted, but the wind being quartering, assisted 
us but little, but gradually came around ahead ; took in our 
sail, wind blew so hard ahead that we were compelled to put 
on shore, and lay by until late in the afternoon. Two men 
sick to-day, which makes the work come harder on the others. 
We came only twelve miles to-day. 

Wednesday, dOth. The wind blowing hard down the river 
all night. I supposed it would fall by sunrise. In this I was 
mistaken, for the wind blew harder as the sun rose, yet we got 
a few miles to a safe shelter when we were completely wind- 
bound. 

My interpreter, 6. Lucie, has been upwards of twenty-five 
years from Canada, and has passed most of his time about the 
different lead mines and Prairie du Chien, but principally in 
the employ of a Mr. Dubuque, who died some years ago at 
what is called Dubuque mines. We made only twelve miles 
to-day, being wind bound most of the time. 

Thursday, Ist Jaly. Arose early ; appearance of a fine day. 
About nine o'clock an air of wind ahead. Saw two Indians 
hunting turtle eggs on a small sand}' island. The wind began 



MAj. forstth's karratite. 145 

to blow hard. Made out to get to Death's-Head creek, where 
we waited three or foar hoars until the wind abated. Set out, 
and encamped within two miles of Dubuque's mines, having 
come to-day 28 miles, which is good work after losing much 
time from head winds. While laying at Death's-Head creek, 
a Fox Indian came to my boat, and told me two boats lashed 
together had passed down the river last night. I suppose 
these must be the contractors' boats returning from Prairie du 
Chien, and going down to St. Louis. 

Friday, 2d. I set out early, in hopes of having a calm day ; 
wind ahead almost all day, with a strong current. Met four! 
discharged soldiers, from Prairie du Chien, going down to St. , 
Louis in a skiff. They enquired how far it was to the mines. [ 
Told them 10 to 12 miles. They said they had left Prairie du: 
Chien yesterday, and that the 5th regiment arrived there on 
Wednesday from Green Bay. 

Saturday, 3d. The Mississippi continues to be very high. 
Our progress was much impeded to-day, owing to the men not 
being able to find bottom with their poles. Encamped about 
three miles above Turkey river. Distance to-day 24 miles, 
which was a good day's journey, as I was detained about an 
hour at the Fox village giving the Indians some presents. 

Sunday, 4th. Yesterday evening I saw a comet similar to 
the one of 1811. It appeared to me to be in the same quarter, 
N. N. W. The sight of this comet brought to my memory the 
disasters that befel many the following year, myself being one 
among the many. Never shall I forget the disasters of the 
poor and unfortunate people of Peoria, a small village of 
French, on the Illinois river. After their property was taken 
by the Indians, and a banditti of ruffians from Shawanoe town 
under the command of Captain Thokas E. Craio, we were 
taken down (as malefactors) prisoners, and set adrift on the 
shore of the Mississippi at Savage's ferry. Many poor unfor- 
tunates, with wives and three and four children, had not a 
blanket to cover them, nor a second change to their back. 
Many of their kettles and pots were seen among Craig's men, 
yet they would not give them up. A fellow by the name of 
HcrcHCOOK, with two or three other armed men, went into a 
house, which was in charge of an old man of upwards of fifty 



146 lONNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

years of age, and took away a quantity of sugar. Indeed, I 
could fill pages with the atrocities committed by this banditti 
at Peoria. 

I set out this morning with a view, if possible, to reach 
Prairie du Chien, but having no wind in our favor, and current 
strong, we could get no further than the mouth of the Ouiscon- 
sin. Distance to-day 24 miles. 

Monday, 5th. I arrived to-day about' nine o'clock A. M., at 
Prairie du Chien, and immediately the wind sprang up and blew 
a fresh breeze. This was vexing, as I had experienced five 
days of head winds successively. /l found here waiting my i 
arrival, the Red Wing's son, a Sioux Indian, who wished to be 
considered something, with a band of followers. He invited 
me to a talk, and after relating the loss of one of his young 
men who was killed by the Chippewas, he expressed a wish that 
I would take pity on all present, and give them some goods. 
All this was a begging speech. I told him that I meant to go 
up with the troops to the river St. Peter's, and on my way up 
I would stop at their different villages where I would speak to 
them, and give them a few goods. Here I had nothing to say, 
as I could not give any goods at this place, because it required 
goods to give weight to words, and make them understand me 
well. Tet he is such a beggar, that he would not take any 
refbsal. I got up in an abrupt manner, and left him and band, 
to study awhile. The Lbaf,^ the principal chief of the Sioux, 
arrived this evening. / 

Tuesday, 6th. The Kkttle chief, with a band of Foxes, 
arrived here to-day, to make arrangements with Mr. Partnet 
about selling him the ashes at the different mines. A boat 
belonging to the contractor, arrived to-day, loaded with pro- 
visions for the troops, in 26 days from Wood river. 

Wednesday, 7th. The contractor's boat left this day, to 
return to Wood river. 

Thursday, 8th. A young Folle Avoine' stabbed a young 
Sioux in a fit of jealousy to-day, near the fort. He was in 
liquor. 

Friday, 9th. The Sioux Indians yesterday seized on the 

1 Wababha. 

S MenomoDeOf or WUd Rice, trib«. 



MAJ. forstth's narrative. 147 

Folle Avoine Indian who had stabbed the young Sioux, and 
kept him in confinement, well tied and guarded by a few 
young Sioux ; but the Sioux chiefs sent for the Folle Avoine, 
and made him a present of a blanket and some other articles 
of clothing, and made him and the young Sioux whom he had 
stabbed, eat out of the same dish together, thus forgiving and 
forgetting the past. 

Sunday, 11. Every day since my arrival at this place, the 
wind has blown up the river ; to-day it came around south and 
with rain — wind settled at northwest. . 

Monday, 12th. The Red Wiko's son is still here a begging. 
He invited me to talk with him in council yesterday. This I 
refused, as I did not wish to be troubled with such a fellow. 

Tuesday, Idth. Much rain this morning ; wind southwest. 

Wednesday, 14th. Some Winnebagoes arrived from head- 
waters of Focky river and Portage of Ouisconsin. These fel- 
lows are scientific beggars. Wind north. 

Thursday, 15th. /Yesterday evening the Red Winq's son's 
band of Sioux Indians set out for their homes, and I am glad 
of it, for they are a troublesome set of beggars. The wind 
blows hard from the north to-day, which makes it much cooler 
than it has been for many days before. / 

Friday, 16th. The wind continues io blow hard from the 
north, and the weather is still cool. Two men arrived this 
evening from Green Bay in a canoe. 

Saturday, 17th. Mr. Bodtillier arrived here to-day from 
Green Bay. Mr. Shaw also arrived here to-day from St. Louis 
in a canoe, having left his horses at Rocky Island. He informs 
me that he left Bell Fontaine on the 15th ult. ; that the recruits 
destined for Mississippi set out on the day before and may be 
expected shortly. 

Sunday, 18th. Took a ride out in the country. Found 
some of the situations handsome, but the farmers are poor 
hands at cultivation. Flour, $10 per cwt. ; com, $8 per bushel ; 
eggs, SI per doz. ; chickens, $1 to $1.25 a couple. Butter, 
none made. 

Monday, 19th. A little rain, and cool all day. Mr. Shaw 

left to-day to retuin home. 

Thursday, 22d. A fine wind up the river to-day, with much 
20 



[ 



148 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

rain, jthe old Red Wing, a Sioux chief, with about twenty 
of his followers, arrived to-day. This is another begging ex- 
pedition. \ 

Friday, 2dd. The wind still up the river, with some rain. 
The old Bed Wing and I had a long talk, and, as I supposed, 
the whole purport was begging. 

Saturday, 24th. Having heard n^ch talk about Carver's 
claim to land at or near St. Peter's river, and understanding 
that the Red Wing knew or said something about it last year, 
curiosity led me to make enquiries of him, having now an oppor- 
tunity. He told me he remembered of hearing his father say, 
that lands lying on the east side of Lake Pepin, known by the 
name of the old wintering places, were given to an English- 
man ; that he is now an old man (about sixty years of age), 
and does not himself remember the transactions. I wished to 
continue the conversation, but the old man did not like it, and 
therefore I did not press it. 

Monday, 26th. Captain Hickman and family left this place 
to-day in an open boat for St. Louis. Wind north, and another 
warm day. 

Wednesday, 28th, A boat arrived here from Oreen Bay. 

Thursday, 29 th. This is the warmest day I have experi- 
enced this season, although there blew a hard wind up the 
river all day. 

Friday, 30th. Yesterday evening the war party of Foxes, • 
who had been on the hunt of some of the Sioux of the interior, 
returned without finding any. Much wind and rain this morn- 
ing. I returned Mr. Moore three dollars, which Mr. Aird 
gave me last September, to buy him some articles, which could 
not be procured. 

Saturday, 31st. Wind light up the river ; no boats, no re- 
cruits, no news, nor anything else from St. Louis. 

Sunday, August 1st. Major Marston set out to-day early 
with twenty-seven troops in three boats to garrison Fort Arm- 
strong at Rocky Island. The boat which brought the sutler's 
goods from Green Bay a few da^^s since, set out to-day to 
return home. Some rain to-day ; weather warm. 

Monday, 2d. Thank God a boat loaded with ordnance and 



MAJ. FOBSTTH's NARa^TIYB. 149 

stores of different kinds arrived to-day, and said a provision 
boat woald arrive to-morrow, bnt no news of the recraits. 

Wednesday, 4th. This morning the provision boat arrived. 
No news from St. Lonis. This boat brings news of having 
passed a boat with troops on board destined for this place. 
Some of the men say two boats. Some rain to-day. 

Thursday, 5th. Much rain last night. Col. Lbavenwobth^ 
is determined to set out on the 7th, if things can be got ready \ 
for the expedition to St. Peter's. The Colonel has very prop-' 
erly, in my opinion, engaged the two large boats now here, with 
as many of the men belonging to the boats as will remain to 
accompany the expedition, their contents being wanted for the' 
new establishment at St. Peters. Without the assistance of 
these two boats, it would appear impossible for the expedition 
to go on. 

Friday, 6th. Yesterday evening some Frenchmen who would 
not agree to go any fhrther up the Mississippi, set out for St. 
Louis in a bark canoe. This morning, eight discharged sol- 
diers set out from this place for St. Louis in a skiff. 

Saturday, 7th. Every exertion was made to get off to-day ; 
but impossible. A fine wind up the river. 

Sunday, 8th. This morning the Colonel told me that he 
would be ready in an hour, and about eight o'clock we set out ) 
for river St. Peter's. The troops, consisting of 98 rank a,n6( 
file, in fourteen batteaux and two large boats, loaded with pro-' 
visions and ordnance, and stores of different kinds, as also my^ 
boat and a barge belonging to the Colonel, making seventeen . 
boats ; and in the whole, 98 soldiers and about 20 boatmen. 
I felt myself quite relieved when we got uader way. We 
made to-day 18 miles. 

Monday, 9th. Set out early. A thick fog; it cleared 
away and a fair wind sprung up, when at times we made great 

1 Gen. HxNRT Lsaycnwortk was born in Connecticatf Dec. 10, 178S. When the 
war of 181S broke out, he was practising law. He was commissioned Capt. in the 
S5th Infiintry in April, ISIS; promoted to Major of 9th Infantry Aug., 1818; brevetted 
Lient. Col. and Col. for distinguished serrices at Chippewa, Jnly 5, 1814, and at Ni- 
agara Falls, where he was wounded. He was appointed Lt. Col. of the 0th Infhntry 
Feb., 1818. Became Brey. Brig. Gen. Jnly, 1824, and Col. 8d Infantry Dec. 16, 18S5. 
He established varions military posts on the frontier, one of which, now the flour- 
ishing city of Leavenworth, Kansas, perpetuates his name. He died at Cross Tim* 
bers, Texas, Jnly 21, 1884. W. 



150 lOXNBSOTA HISTORICAL OOLLBOnONS. 

headway. We this day found the body of A. Aunqer, and 
buried it. We encamped a little below Iowa river, having 
came to-day 35 miles. 

Tuesday, 10th. ^his day we set out late, and stopped some 
time with the Bourgne, or One-Eyed Sioux^^ and his followers 
who had come from their village on the Iowa river, and placed 
themselves on the banks of the Mississippi to be in readiness 
to receive anything we might have to give them. I gave them 
a little powder and milk,' they agreeing with me that it was 
better to give the blankets, etc., to the Indians above, as they 
were most in want. We encamped opposite Raccoon creek. 
Distance to-day itwenty-two miles; we were assisted by the 
wind to-day. n 

Wednesday, 1 1th. We set out early this morning, but lost 
some time at breakfast, and we also lost the wind, as it fell. 

1 " The BouBONB," [Fr. bonrgeon, an ej9f] whose Dakota name was Ta-hA'XA., or 
" The Rising Moose," though often called the '*0ld Priest'' by the old settlers 
and bv the French, L'Orignal Levs, was one of the most remarkable men of his 
nation. He was a great orator and diplomatist, and had mnch inflaence among the 
Dakotas. He was bom at Prairie Aux AiUs, (Winona,) and in his yoanger days was 
noted for his intelligence, daring and activity. Daring a game in boyhood, one eye 
was accidentally destroyed, giving him the pecnliarity by which he was always 
known. In person he was tall and of a fine appearance, mnscnlar and active, even 
to the day of his death. In his yoanger days he performed Innamerable feats of 
daring, strength and endarance. He figared prominently in the treaty between Pikb 
and the Sionx chiefs in 1805. Pikk refers to him in terms of confidence and respect, 
and calls him " my friend." During the war of 1812 he rendered most valoable ser- 
vices to the American cause. With one exception, he was the only Sionx who 
remained friendly to us in that contest. Gov. Clark, of St. Louis, employed him as 
a scout and messenger. In this capacity he undertook long Journeys alone, braved 
many dangers and endured much hardship. Col. Dickson, the British leader, once 
had him arrested at Prairie du Chien and threatened him with death unless he would 
reveal information he was supposed to have, but Ta-ra-xib bravely and firmly 
refhsed to betray his cause. He was imprisoned some time, but finally released. 
Gov. Clark esteemed his services highly, and on May 6th, 1816, gave him a commis- 
sion as chief of the Sioux nation, together with a Captsln's uniform and a medal. 
He kept these to the day of his death, and was very proud of them. His services to 
our cause, his ability and intelligence, his high sense of honor, and his noble bearing, 
all made him highly esteemed and respected by the whites daring his subsequent 
life. All the early pioneers of the Northwest knew him, and he was a welcome gaest 
at their houses. A very good daguerreotype likeness of him, procured at Wabasha 
in 18S9 by Hon. Chas. 8. Bryant, has been presented by the latter to the Society. 
Ta-ha-xa died in April, 1860. He was then at least 85 years of age, though some 
who knew him well place his age at nearly 100. His natural vigor however, was but 
little abated, and his mind clear, recalling the stirring events of his long and active 
career. At the name of Pncx, his eye would kindle, and his manner become infbsed 
with animation. W. 

9 Whiaky. L. C. D. 



I 



MAJ. fosstth's karrativs. 151 

I 

Some rain to day. Encamped about three miles above Bandy 
Prairie. Distance to-day eighteen miles. 

Thursday, 12th. The wind ahead. The large boats detained 
us much to-day, yet we made twenty-one miles, and encamped 
six miles below La Montaine qui trempe a Veau, 

Friday, Idth. We set out early. The Mississippi begins to 
become more shallow. The provision boat occasions much 
trouble to-day, owing to her being very heavily laden. I We 
made the Leaf's village this evening, a distance of only twelve 
miles. On my arrival to-day, I had a talk with the Leaf. I 
told him that the President of the United States had sent me 
to acquaint the Sioux Indians that these troops which he saw 
encamped on that island, were sent up to build a fort at the 
mouth of river St. Peter*s ; that he must not think that any- 
thing bad was intended ; that a fort at St. Peters would answer ! 
two purposes for the Sioux — first, it would be a place that any \ 
little thing they might want repaired by the blacksmith would 
be done for them, and also be a place of trade ; secondly, their i 
enemies would not be allowed to injure any of the Sioux Indi- ^ 
ans at or near the fort, but at the same time the Sioux must 
not injure any Chippewas that might visit the fort ; that if ', 
their Great Father, the President, meant them any harm, he t 
would not send a man of my years, having so many gray hairs 
in his head as I have, to do anything but what was good. Here | 
(pointing to Col. Lbavsnwobth) is the chief of the soldiers \ 
belonging to your Great Father ; should, at any time, any of 
his young men do anything wrong, complain to him. He will 
render you every justice in his power, and both him and myself 
will expect that if any of your young men should do what is 
not right, you, as the head chief, will render justice equally in 
the same way when the Colonel complains to you. 

The river Mississippi is free as much so for you as for any 
other Indians, and I hope all boats or crafb of any kind belong- 
ing to white people, or any white people traveling by land 
through your country, will not be molested, but allowed to 
pass and repass as they may think proper. 

You must remember that all the white people on the other 
side of the great waters are now at peace, and your Great 
Father, the President of the United States, is also at peace 

I 



152 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

with all the world. Yet he is prepared for war. He has many 
soldiers, and at one blow from his whistle he can get as many 
more soldiers as he wants. He has many vessels on the great 
waters, and every year is building more. He don't wish for war, 
and is not the first to begin, but will not lay still and allow his 
young men to be killed without revenging them. You may 
suppose the President has not forgotten your assisting the 
British in the last war ; but in this you are wrong if you think 
so. You have made a treaty of peace with your Great Father, 
and every thing is over ; but beware of the bad birds that come 
from that northern quarter. When they tell you, or want to 
tell you anything that you think is bad, put 3'Qur fingers in 
your ears. I could talk to you all da\^ and all night too, on 
this subject, but it would be telling you things that you know 
as well as I do. I have only to say, that I have put you in 
the straight path, and if you leave it, or make it crooked, it will 
not be my fault. Remember well what I have this day told 
you, and all news that I may hear that relates to you, I will 
always make you acquainted with. Here is a blanket, a pipe 
of tobacco, and some powder. It is but little, but you well 
know^hat I have many children to^see before I return home, 
and I must give every one a little. 

He accepted of the presents with thanks, and, after sundown, 
he came aboard of my boat to visit me, and conversed on 
many subjects. This man is no beggar, nor does he drink, 
and perhaps I may say he is the only man in the Sioux nation 
of this description, y 

Saturday, 14th. All the boats set out early this morning. 
As each boat passed the village, they returned the salute of 
yesterday. The channel of the river is becoming more difi^cult, 
and the large boats were much impeded to-day. Although we 
had a fair *wind part of the day, we only came twelve miles, 
and encamped on an island near the Tumbling Rock. 

Sunday, 15th. A head wind to-day, and being detained by 
the provision boat, encamped a mile above Driftwood river, a 
distance of ten miles. 

Monday, 16th. Set out early. Great appearance of wind. 
Hoisted sail ; but of little use. Encamped at the Grand En- 
campment, having come to-day twenty miles. 



MAJ. FOBSTTH's NABBATITE. 158 

Tuesday, 17th. We set oat in a great fog, and made the 
lower end of Lake Pepin, a distance only of nine miles. We 
encamped early for two reasons ; first, because we had not 
time to cross the lake ; secondly, because the soldiers had to 
draw provisions and wash their dirty linen. 

Wednesday, 18th. This day was calm and warm. We 
crossed Lake Pepin with ease, and encamped about two miles 
below the Red Wing's village. Distance to-day, twenty-two 
miles. I 

Thursday, 19th. IWe set out early this morning. Had a 
little talk with the Red Wino at his village. Gave him some 
goods. He was much pleased with his present. His son is 
exactly what I took him to be — a trifling, begging, discontented 
fellow./ The weather was very warm to-day ; not a breath of 
air stiiring, and one of my men sick, yet we made out to come 
twenty-four miles, and encamped at the mouth of the river St. 
Croix. This is a large river, and I am told heads near to Lake 
Superior. 

Friday, 20th. We set out this morning in a calm. About 
12 o'clock the wind blew up fair but light, yet the air was 
much refreshed. We encamped this evening at Medicine 
Wood, a distance of twenty-four miles. The big boats did not 
get up till after sundown. Medicine Wood takes its name 
fh>m a large beech tree, which kind of wood the Sioux are not 
acquainted with, and supposing that the Great Spirit has 
placed it there as a genii to protect or punish them according 
to their merits or demerits. 

Saturday, 21st. Again we were early under way this morn- 
ing. The day was rainy, and the wind nearly, and in some 
places quite, ahead, yet the Colonel in his barge, and I in my 
boat, made out to get to LriTLB Crow's village, about four 
o'clock in the afternoon, a distance of twenty-one miles. \ We 
had a talk with Littlb Crow.^ His independent manner, I 
like. I made him a very handsome present, for which he was 
very thankful, and said it was more than he expected. [ 

1 This was the father of the chief of the same name who was so prominent in the 
outbreak of 186t, and met his death the year following. In the paper by Gen. Siblxt 
to be (band in a sabseqnent part of this volnme, his character is strikingly sketched. 

W. 



154 MINNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLKCTIONS. 

Sunday, 22d. Yesterday eveniog the Colonel descended to 
his camp, and said he would be up with the expedition early 
this morning ; but a very hard wind ahead prevented the boats 
from being able to stem the current, and continued so all day. 
I was anxious to go on, as we were only fifteen miles ft^om St. 
Peters. 

Monday, 23d. All the boats got up by 8 o'clock, and after 
breakfast ^e set out, and 1 pushed on by myself, and arrived 
at the mouth of St. Peters about four o'clock in the afternoon. 
This is the second daj^ I have been unwell. 

Tuesday, 24th. This morning Col. Leavenworth arrived in 
his barge, and was busily employed almost all day in finding a 
proper place to make an establishment. He at length pitched 
on a place immediately at the mouth of St. Peter's river, on 
its right bank, where, on the arrival of the soldiers, they were 
immediately set to work in making roads up the bank of the 
river, cutting down trees, etc. I have been very ill to-day. 

Wednesday, 25th. Yesterday evening Pinighon and the 
White Bustard arrived with many followers, and wished me 
to go to work immediately ; but it being late, and I being very 
unwe^, I put business off until to-day, when after a long talk 
I gave them a very handsome present, and they returned home 
apparently satisfied. 

Thursday, 26th. Yesterday evening three chiefs arrived 
with many followers, viz. : The Six,^ whose village is thirty 
miles up the river St. Peter's ; the Arrow, twenty-four miles 
still higher,^ and the Killiew (thus named from a species of 
eagle) whose village is six miles still higher. They wished 
to go about business immediately ; but it was too late. This 
morning we met and had some talk, but I by no means liked 
the countenance of Mr. Six, nor did I like his talk ; I gave 
them the remainder of my goods, yet the Six wanted more. 
Not having any more, they had to do without. I found on 
enquiring that Mr. Six is a good-for-nothing fellow, and rather 
gives bad counsel to his young men than otherwise. In all 
my talks with those Indians, I generally told them the same I 
told the Leaf ; and in all cases I had to give each band a 

1 Sha.-k^ pat. 
2LeSQear prairie. 



MAJ. FORSYTH'S NARBATIYE* 155 

little whisky. These are the last Indians I am to see in this 
quarter ; therefore I am done with the Sioux for this year. 

Friday, 27th. Much rain last night, and very blustering 
to-day, which prevents my going up to visit the Falls, being a 
distance of nine miles. 

Saturday, 28th. I set out early this morning, accompanied 
by Col. Leavenworth, Major Vose,* Dr. Pcrcell,* Lt. Clark" 
and Mrs. Gooding,^ to visit the Falls of St. Anthony. My 
boat being strong manned, we made good headway, but the 
more we approached the Falls, the stronger the rapids became. 
I left the boat with one man to guard it, and we set out by 
land, having only a distance of one mile to walk to the Falls. 
In going out of a thick woods into a small prairie, we had a 
full view of the Falls from one side to the other, a distance of 
about four or five hundred yards. The sight to me was beau- 
tiful ; the white sheet of water falling perpendicularly, as I 
should suppose, about twenty feet — but Gen. Pike says he 
measured and found it sixteen and a half feet — over the differ- 
ent precipices ; in other parts, rolls of water, at different 
distances, falling like so many silver cords, while about the 
island large bodies of water were rushing through great Mocks 
of rooks, tumbling every way, as if determined to make war 
against anything that dared to approach them. All this was 
astonishing to me who never saw the like before. After view- 
ing the Falls from the prairie for some time, we approached 
nearer, and by the time we got up to the Falls, the noise of the 
falling water appeared to me to be awful. I sat down on the 
bank and feasted my eyes, for a considerable time, in viewing 
the falling waters, and the rushing of large torrents through 
and among the broken and large blocks of rocks, thrown in 

1 JoBXAH H. VoBS was a native of Masaachnsetts. He served as Captain and Major 
in the war of 1812, and in May, 1815, was appointed Capt. and Bvt Maj. in the 6th 
Infantry. Promoted to Maj. Dec.,lS20; Lt. Col. 8d Inf. in 1830, and Col. of 4th Inf. 
1842. He died July 15, 1845, near New Orleans. W. 

2 Dr. Edward Purcell was a native of Vii^inia. He was appointed Surgeon of 
the Filth Infantry, July, 1818, and stationed at Ft. Snelling after that post was estab- 
lished. He died there Jan. 11, 1825. W. 

8 Lient. Nathan Clark was Post Commissary for several years. On page 77 of 
this volame a sicetch of his life is given. W. 

4 Mrs. QooDiNO is said to be, and probably was, the first white woman who ever 
saw St. Anthony's Falls. She was the wife of Capt Gbob«r GooDnio, of the 5th 
Regimen \ W. 

21 



15l> lONNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

every direction by some great oonvalsion of natare. Several 
of the company crossed o^er to the island above the Falls, the 
water being shallow. The company having returned from the 
island, they told me that they had attempted to cross over 
the channel on the other side of the island, but the water was 
too deep, and they say the greatest quantity of water descends 
on the other or north-east side of the island. We proceeded 
to the boat and embarked, and was down at the encampment 
at sundown. 

Sunday, 29th. I this day accompanied Col. Leavenworth 
in his barge up the St. Peters river to the White Bustard and 
Pinichon's villages — a distance to the first village of four 
miles, and to the second village two miles higher, at which the 
Colonel enquired if any horses were for sale. These Indians, 
however, having few horses, had none to dispose of. 

Monday, 30th. Having fully finished my business, and the 
Indians preparing to go off to their hunting places, I set out 
to return home. I left the encampment about ten o'clock, and 
made Medicine Wood against a hard head wind. 

Tuesday, dlst. The wind is still ahead, yet we worked 
down, and came to anchor after sundown, at the upper end of 
Lake Pepin. 

Wednesday, Sept. 1st. This morning very early we heard 
the report of a cannon on the other side of an island. The 
Colonel, who was on board of my boat, said, those must be 
the expected recruits. We immediately weighed anchor, and 
ascended to the upper part of the island, to get into the other 
channel, and to be ahead of the boats. We accordingly met 
two large boats and a batteau with 120 recruits on board, 
bound to river St. Peter's. The Colonel having business with 
the oflScers, we were detained about two hours, and also, to 
aggravate us the more, the wind was ahead, a very bad circum- 
stance for us to cross Lake Pepin. With much difiSculty, we 
made the Little Point au Sable, where I came to in a good 
harbor, with an expectation that the wind would fall towards 
evening ; but, on the contrary, the wind raised and blew hard 
all night. I was very uneasy and did not sleep all night. 
After daylight I laid down, and gave orders to the patroon, 



MAJ. fosstth's NASKATIYB. 157 

that as 800Q as the wind should fall sufficiently, to set out and 
make the best of our way. 

Thursday, 2d. I awoke about 8 o'clock this morning, and 
found the boat under way. After doubling the great Point au 
Sable, we worked well to the windward shore, and then hoisted 
sail. The wind was on our beam, and blew fresh. We 
stretched across the lake, which was very boisterous, and we 
shipped some water, yet we held our own as to the lee way, 
and went on at an amazing rate, and the wind served us almost 
all day, and found ourselves at sundown at the upper end of 
Wing Prairie, where we stopped to cook some provisions, hav- 
ing come to-day, sixty miles. We set out as soon as our 
provisions were cooked, aiid the men rowed a considerable 
distance down and then let the boat drive with the current all 
night. The river is now higher than when we ascended. 

Friday, 3d. Between rowing and drifting last night, we came 
nine miles, and from daylight to sundown to-day we came sixty 
miles more. Met Mr. Bobbrtson to-day ascending the river 
to winter in river St. Peter's. This has been a calm da}"^. 

Saturday, 4th. The current is strong in this part of the 
Mississippi, and by keeping in the middle of the channel we 
drifted about twelve miles, when a gust compelled us to put on 
shore for the remainder of the night ; but as soon as daylight 
appeared this morning, we set out with a head wind. We met 
Mr. Moore, who returned back with us, having forgotten some 
papers, and we arrived at Prairie du Chien about three o'clock 
in the afternoon. 

Sunday, 5th. Mr. Moore set out to-day in a canoe to rejoin 
his boat, which he had left yesterday when he met us. He is 
going up to winter among the Yanktons in St. Peter's river. 

Monday, 6th. A warm day. I was much astonished to 
meet my old friend 6. E. , here on my arrival on Saturday last. 
He gave me a history of his ups and downs since we parted, 
about seventeen years ago. Poor fellow, he has experienced 
such days as required much fortitude to support. During the 
late war he rendered much service to tiie United States, and, 
like many good fellows, was poorly recompensed for his trouble. 
I wish him every success, because he is deserving of it. He is 



158 tflMNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLKCTIONS. 

now engaged largely in the Indian trade. He has a wife and 
six children. 

Tuesday, 7th. Much rain fell last night. The Mississippi 
has been raising for several days. This day about 11 o'clock 
I left Prairie du Chien for home. At sundown we had come 
twenty-seven miles. Stopped to cook near Turkey river. 

Wednesday, 8th. Much rain again last night. A fine wind 
down the river to-day. What we drove last night, and what 
we made by sailing to-day, we came eighty-seven miles. 

Thursday, 9th. We came during last night and to-day to the 
head of Rocky riveir rapids, being a distance of sixty-six 
miles. 

Friday, 10th. We set out early ; found the water in the 
rapids much troubled, and decently high for the season. Ar- 
rived at Fort Armstrong. Major M.^ and Lieut. 6. behaved 
very politely to me. 

Saturday, 11th. I remained at Fort Armstrong until this 
morning, waiting for papers that were to be put in the post 
office at St. Louis. Set out ; much rain to-day, and wind some- 
times ahead, yet we made out to come by sundown fifty-one 
miles. 

Sunday, 12th. We having got under way early this morn- 
ing with a head wind, which continued hard all day ; but we 
made the Flint Hills, therefore we came during last night and 
to-day forty-two miles. 

Monday, 13th. We experienced a very heavy rain last 
evening, but it cleared up, and we pushed olf. Found this 
morning we had drifted about fifteen miles. Last night we met 
a boat belonging to Col. McNair near the upper end of the 
river Des Moines rapids ; several men sick ; the boat was lying 
ashore three miles lower down. We saw another boat on 
shore on the east side of the Mississippi. We arrived in the 
evening at Fort Fdwards, where stopped a couple hours. We 
came to-day about thirty-three miles. 

Tuesday, 14th. We set out from Fort Edwards yesterday 
evening after sundown to drive with the current ; but the wind 
blew us on shore, where we remained all night. Set out early 

1 Probably Major Mabstoit. L. C. D. 



MAJ. rOBSTTH^S NARRilTlVE. 159 

with quartern wind ; we halted a little after sundown six miles 
below Saverton, having come to-day ninety-nine miles. 

Wednesday, 15th. We drijfted last night twenty-one miles. 
Met Mr. Belt a few miles above Clarksville. On mv arrival 
there, found Mr. Phelikg very unwell indeed, and am told that 
there have been many deaths at Louisianaville. The people 
all through this country are very sickly ; at sundown we were 
six miles above Cap au GfrSy having come last night and to- 
night seventy-two miles. 

Thursday, 16th. Having drifted about twelve miles last 
night, and made some narrow escapes from sawyers at the head 
of Cap au Ore island, which gave me much uneasiness during 
the night, set out early with the intention of getting down to 
St. Louis, if possible, for which reason I would not stop at 
Portage des Sioux^ and the men worked hard, but finding we 
could not arrive there until after sundown, I thought it pru- 
dent to encamp above Isle au Cabare^ not wishing to endanger 
the boat in the dark. 

Friday, 17th. We arrived at St. Louis about 8 o'clock this ]; 
morning, after an absence of three and a half months. 

From the extreme heat of the summer I am much surprised 
that I and my men were not more sick than we were ; for let 
any man who is accustomed to traveling in a boat on the Mis- 
sissippi for three and a half months during a very warm sum- 
mer, drinking very bad water, sleeping out in the dews to 
avoid being devoured by musquitoes, and to get but little rest 
during the short nights, and say that such hardships are not 
sufficient to ruin the constitution of any man ; and it must be 
people who have been bred to the like who are able to with- 
stand and overcome all such hardships. Col. Leavenworth \] 
set out from Prairie du Chien with 98 men ; and on his arrival 
at the St. Petei-'s, upwards of one-half were sick. These men 
were only sixteen or seventeen days on the water ; what then 
would have been the consequence if they had been two or 
three months on the water? Perhaps there would not have 
been a sufficiency of well men to attend on the sick. 

I had thought that the country above Prairie du Chien was 
equal at least to the country about the Prairie ; but in this I 
was much mistaken, for instead of finding a fine country, with 



I' 



160 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL CQLLBCTIONS. 

good lands, and plenty of good timber, I found a moantainous, 
broken, rocky and sterile country, not fit for either man or 
beast to live in.^ I did not see, either in going up to St. Peter's 
or coming down, any one kind of wild animal — no, not even a 
squirrel. I saw bat few ducks; it was not the season for 
them, it is true, but I had thought more might have been seen ; 
wild pigeons were plenty ; fish, but few to be had from the 
Indians, although there are plenty to be caught, particularly 
in the rapids above St. Peter's. I cannot conceive what view 
Cabver had in getting lands from the Indians in such an in- 
hospitable region as he did ; not that I mean to say his claim 
is good or bad, by any means, but how a man could select such 
a country is beyond my penetration, except that it was to look 
like something great on paper, among a people who might 
think the country there described was equal to their own in 
goodness and everything else. I have never seen a copy of 
the deed from the Indians to Carvbr ; but I am informed that 
two signatures only are to the deed ; one is a Snake, the other 
a Turtle ; when shown to the Indians they objected to the Tur- 
tle, by saying they had no tribe of that description in their 
nation, and must be a fraud ; or, if marked on the paper by 
an Indian, it must have been done by an Indian of another 
tribe, or out of a joke. One Indian only, that I can find out, 
knows anything about this claim ; he says that, when a boy, 
he remembers to have heard his father say that an Englishman 
came among the Sioux Indians and asked for land, which was 
given him, and he promised to return next year with a large 
quantity of merchandise to give to the Sioux Indians, but that 
they never have seen this Englishman since. It appears to me 
to stand to reason that a man who would promise to deliver 
8,000 blankets as one article, as I am told the deed speaks for 
that enormous number,' would willingly promise anything else. 



1 Maj. FoBSTTH appears to have conceived but a poor idea of the capabilities of 
tliis region. Bat it must be observed that his entire route was along the river, 
where the headlands and bluffs do seem " monntainons, broken, rocky and ster- 
ile/* Onr more recent settlers, however, foand that these frowning ontworks only 
enclosed a region unexcelled for rich soil and every advantage for agricultural in* 
dustry. W. 

9 By reference to the deed, it will be seen that Maj. Fobsttr was misinformed on 
this point. L. C. D. 



HAJ. FOBSTTH^S NAHBATIVS. 1^1 

The Sioux Indians were celebrated for their hospitality and 
goodness toward strangers, and more particularly toward the 
whites. Anything that a white man would ask them was 
granted, if it were possible to do so. They knew nothing 
about intrigue, and supposed that every person who came to 
their country was a friend. Father Hennbpin, who was the 
first white man who ever visited the upper parts of the Mis- 
sissippi, speaks of the Naudowissies (Sioux) as patterns to 
the civilized part of creation. Indeed, he speaks of them in 
raptures, as if they were really his own ancestK>rs. Every- 
thing that a man could say of another set of men Father Hen- 
NBPiK said of the Sioux ; but I am sorry to say that they are 
at the present day (1819) much altered. How this alteration 
has taken place, or what has occasioned it, can be attributed 
only to their too great intercourse with those whom we call 
civilized people ; for I can now safely say that, whatever the 
Sioux might have been, they are now actually a poor, indolent, 
beggarly, drunken set of Indians and cowards. You can see 
nothing of the genuine Indian in them. You see nothing of 
that Indian independence, or of that enterprising character as 
hunters or warriors, lior do you see* a robust, stout,^able-bodied 
pe^le who may be found in more southern latitudes. 
v^ mentioned to Lfttle Crow, one of the principal chiefs of 
the Sioux Indians, the barbarous war that existed between 
them and the Chippewas, and if there was not a possibility of ^ 
bringing about a peace between the two nations. He observed / ^ 
that a peace could easily be made, but said it is better for us 
to carry on the war in the way we do than to make peace, be- 
cause, he added, we lose a man or two in the course of a year, 
and we kill as many of the enemy during the same time ; and 
if we were to make peace, the Chippewas would over-run all 
the country lying between the Mississippi and Lake Superior, 
and have their villages on the banks of the Mississippi itself. 
In this case we, the Sioux, would lose all our hunting grounds 
on the northeast side of the river ; why then, said he, should 
we give up such an extensive country to another nation to save 
the lives of a man or two annually? I know, said he, it is not 
good to go to, or make war too much, or against too many peo- 
ple. But this is a war for land which must always exist if the 



\ 



162 iriKNSSOTA HI8T0BICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Sionx Indians remain in the same opinion that now guides 
them. I found the Indian's reason so good that I said no more 

I on the subject to him. 

I To give an idea of their mode of carrying on war, I will 

' here cite one instance of the cowardly disposition of the Sioux 
Indians. When I arrived at the Little Crow's village, he 
told me that a party of fifty of his young men had gone off 

■ to war ^ve days before, and expected them back in a few days. 
After my arrival at the river St. Peter's, I was informed that 
the war party had got back, and reported that they fell in with 
two Chippewas, at whom the whole fifty fired at one time, kill- 
ing one and wounding the other, who got behind a tree, and 
there the fifty Sioux left him. Thus, you see, the bravery of 
the Sioux. / 

Much has been written, and much more has been said about 
the different customs and manners of the Indians, and a man 
well acquainted with them might write volumes respecting the 
Indians, and many people would think them fabulous ; but let 
any man go and live with the Indians, and he will find that 
they follow the old Jewish customs and manners. They may, 
in some things, dilfer from the Jewish customs, but not mate- 
rially. Those Indians who have had less intercourse with the 
whites, their customs and manners come nearest the Jewish 
customs. It is very well known that Indians who never saw 
white people all agree that there is a Grood and Evil Spirit ; 
the former, they say, is too good to trouble himself about the 
poor mortlils of the earth, but that the; Evil Spirit is always 
waiting for an opportunity to Injure them or to instigate them 
to do mischief. 

To a stranger it would seem odd that all the Indians are so 
much attached to the British Government ; but to a man who is 

• well acquainted with the Indians this can be easily accounted 
for. The British Government will not appoint any man to the 
place of Indian Agent, without he can speak some one of the In- 
dian languages. In this case it is to be supposed that he is ac- 
quainted with the manners and customs of the Indians. All 
the goods for the Indian trade are British goods; and as 
American traders are all for cheap articles, of course they are 
inferior. Poor goods are always regarded as of American 



KAJ. FOB8TTH*S NARRATIVE. 163 

» 

manufactare. A man is appointed an agent in the interior of 
the (Tnion, who perhaps never saw an Indian until he came to 
the agenc3% How, then, can it be supposed that a man who 
knows nothing about Indians can do anything with them? 
Alas ! it is in this way that treaties are made by men who do 
not know the Indian character, and promise fifty things to the 
Indians with a prior intention to put them off. It will not an- 
swer. If we follow the golden rule, to '* do unto others as we 
would wish to be done by," we will soon see the good effects of 
such humane treatment ; but as long as we conlinue to pursue 
our present ignorant system of Indian affairs, we will always 
be in the dark, and the hatred of the Indian race will be 
handed down to successive generations. What an alteration 
would we perceive in the Indians if they were treated according 
to the old Pbnn system of former times. The followers of 
Georgb Fox and William Pbnn could do much for the poor 
aborigines, and if they were on our frontiers, instead of the 
present race of beings, much good would result to the whites 
as well as to the Indians. 



MAJ. THOMAS F0R8YTH TO GOV. WM. CLARK.* 

St. Louis, Sept. 28, 1819. 
Some time in the month of May last, I was informed that 
the fifth Regiment of Infantry was ordered from Detroit by 
way of Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, to build a fort at the 
mouth of St. Peter's river, and I was also told that Col. At- 
kinson had been inquiring if I had set out for Prairie du Chien, 
saying I would be late if I did not soon do so. I immedi- 
ately made the necessary arrangements and left this place to 
ascend the Mississippi the beginning of June, and took and 
delivered to the Sanks and Foxes at Fort Armstrong their an- 
nuities for 1818 ; a receipted invoice of these goods I have 
forwarded to the Superintendent of Indian Trade, as by your 
direction. 

1 Transcribed ftrom MiO. Fobbtth's MS. Letter Book. L. C. D. 

2S 



164 HINKE80TA HI8TOBIOAL COLLECTIONS. 

After I had delivered the goods, I demanded of the Saak 
chiefs the trunk containing the clothes and money, said to have 
been taken from an officer by a Sauk Indian named the Big 
Eagle, and others of the same nation, last spring, on the Mis- 
souri river ; and in the affray it was said that the Big £agle 
was wounded in the head. I can assure you that this chief 
had not been wounded when I saw him in June last, and from 
the best information I could collect, the Sauks must have left 
the Missouri river previous to the time the officer was said to 
have been robbed. A soldier, the only person who was with 
the officer when this affair happened, tells a very different story 
to what was told you. The Sauk chiefs denied of ever having 
heard of this offence, and declared in public coimcil before the 
officer commanding and others, that if any of their people had 
done anything amiss, thejs the chiefs, would be the first to ac- 
quaint me of it, or restore the property thus taken. 

According to orders I received from the War Department, I 
made a handsome present to the two brothers of the Sauk In- 
dian who was killed by Samuel TjAompson, last winter, near 
Bear creek. Pike county, in this Territory. This I did in pres- 
ence of the chiefs, telling them if they accepted of the godds, 
never to say hereafter that an American had killed their 
brother They accepted of the goods, and we parted appa- 
rently contented. My business finishe<l with these Indians, I 
immediately set out for Prairie du Chien, after giving them all 
the few presents I had — still they wanted more ; the sick, 
lame and lazy were brought down to my boat for me to take 
pity on them, if not in goods, something to eat would be ac- 
ceptable. 

On my arrival at Prairie du Chien, I found the 5th regiment 
had arrived there from Detroit a few days before ; and the 
commanding officer. Col. Leavenworth, told me that as soon 
as his recruits would arrive, as well as ordnance and stores, he 
would immediately proceed on to make the establishment at 
the mouth of St. Peter's. I waited some time at the Prairie 
for these supplift. During which time the Sioux Indians, hav- 
ing heard of my ascending the Mississippi, were continually 
coming down from the different villages to see me, with the 
expectation of receiving some preaents. In this they were dis- 



MAJ. forstth's narbatitb. 165 

appointed, as I told them all that I would speak to them at 
their Tillages, and make them some presents, so that every one 
might have a share. Finding that they coald not obtain gooda, 
then they began to beg for provisions and some liquor. I 
thought it would be for the good of the service to give them 
some, which was issued on my return, being countersigned by 
the commanding officer, not wishing that they should go away 
home dissatisfied. Indeed, your friend, the Boubone, or One 
Eyed Sioux^ told me that if you were present you would be 
more liberal. 

Two boats arriving, one loaded with provisions, the other 
with ordnance stores of different kinds, and no accounts of 
any recruits being on the way. Col. Leavenworth immediately 
decided on going up to St. Peter's with what men he could con- 
veniently spare from Prairie dn Chien. As soon as things 
could be got ready, the expedition set out, composed of 98 
soldiers and about 20 boatmen. The Boubone or the One 
Eyed SiouafeTillBge is on the Iowa river, some eighteen leagues 
above Prairie du Chien, and, hearing of the expedition on the 
way up, he and his followers placed themselves on the bank of 
the Mississippi, when I halted and gave them some gunpowder 
and tobacco. Boubone agreed with me that it was better to 
deliver the blankets, etc., to the Sioux above, as they were 
more in want than himself and friends. 

I proceeded on to Wing Prairie, a distance of 25 leagues 
above the Boubone's village, being the residence of the prin-* 
cipal chief of all the Sioux in that quarter, named The Leaf ; 
to him I gave a very handsome present, for which he was very 
thankful. I next halted at a place called the Ground Barn, at 
the village of the Red Wing, a distance above The Leaf's vil- 
lage of 25 leagues. I found them waiting for my arrival. I 
gave those Indians a good present ; yet they were not con- 
tented, but wanted more. The old Red Wing and his son are 
great beggars, and wanted everything. The next village is 
the Little CboVs, at a place called the Grand Marais, being 
23 leagues above the Red Wing's village, and within five 
lei^es of the mouth of St. Peter's river. Here 1 found, in 
the Little Cbow, a steady, generous and independent Indian ; 
he acknowledged the sale of the land at the mouth of the St. 



166 mmrEsoTA msToaiCAL oollectioks. 

Peter's river to the United States, and said he had been look- 
ing every year since the sale for the troops to build a fort, and 
was now happy to see us all, as the Sioux would now have 
their Father with them. I gave him a better present than to 
any one at the villages below, as he lived immediately in the 
vicinity of the troops. The day after my arrival at the mouth 
of the St. Peter's, Pinichon and the WnrrE Bustard, with their 
bands, came down from their villages (a few miles up the St. 
Peter's river) to visit me. To those chiefs I was equally as 
liberal as I was to Little Crow, and for the same reason, and 
they returned home contented. 

The day following, three chiefs arrived ; one, the Six, whose 
character may easily be read in his countenance, clamored for 
presents, and rather ordered than requested that I would write 
on to his Great Father, the President, to send him plenty of 
kettles, guns, etc. ; that he had been promised formerly many 
things which as yet he had not received, but expected they 
would be sent to him. He is, as I am informed, a troublesome, 
good-for-nothing fellow. In all cases, in distributing presents, 
I had to give each band some liquor ; and at one time thought 
I would not be able to retain a sufficiency of provisions to 
bring my boat's crew back to this place, for I was determined 
after I left Prairie du Chien not to call on the Commissary for 
any article of provisions whatever. 

Mr. T. HoNORiE, the United States interpreter at this place, 
I had to engage as an interpreter to go up with me for the 
Sauks and Foxes ; and at Prairie du Chien I was fortunate in 
procuring an excellent Sioux interpreter to go up with me to 
St. Peter's. On my arrival at Prairie du Chien in descending, 
I was well informed that Robert Dickson had left the Sault 
de St. Marie, in July last, to go to Red jiver by way of Lake 
Superior. Should his business be to draw any of the Sioux 
Indians from St. Peter's to Red river, I think he will be mis- 
taken ; as the Little Crow and others were inveigled away 
formerly, but were glad to return after an absence of only two 
years. 

I am sorry to inform you of the death of Old Lance, one 
of the principal chiefs of the Sauk Indians. The old man 
had commenced to develop to the Sauks a plan of dividing 



MAJ. fobstth's nabbativs. 167 

property ; that is to say, to have theu: lands sarveyed, and 
each family to have a proportion according to their numbers. 
He had already made many proselytes ; but with the death of 
the old man, all has fallen to the ground. 

Some few lowas and Sauks planted corn near Fort Edwards. 
Some few families who are entitled to lands for services ren- 
dered during the late war, are living in the evacuated fort, and 
are occasionally insulted by the drunken Indians, who take up 
liquor from the settlement, and drink it at and near the fort. 
About half a company of troops could not be better employed 
on the Mississippi than at Fort Edwards, under the command 
of a steady subaltern officer. It would keep the Indians in 
awe, and might prevent accidents, which must always happen 
where Indians get drunk among whites. 

A letter from an Indian Agent at Chicago directed to me, 
or, in my absence, to the Governor of this Territory, has been 
handed to Mr. Bates previous to my arrival at this place. As 
soon as I can see Mr. Bates, I will get the letter, and if worth 
your notice, I will transmit you a copy for your information. 
The Indians on the Mississippi, I am happy to say, from the 
best information I can collect, are perfectly peaceable ; and 
those Sauks who visit Maiden occasionally do not appear to 
express such a high opinion of their British Father as formerly ; 
but, on the contrary, they begin to think that their American 
Father has the strongest arms, and his medicines are the best. 

Capt. Whistler and a trader, on their way up Fox river 
from Gree*) Bay, at different times were fired on by some of 
the Winnebagoes residing in the neighborhood, but no damage 
done.^ 



1 The offlcera commanding American troops declined paying trlbate to the Winne- 
bagoes in passing np Fox river, as mentioned in vol. 6, p. 96, Wit. HiU CcUb,^ and 
hence probably this firing on Capt. Whibtlkb and the trader. L. C. D. 



MEMOIR OF JEAN BAPTISTE FARIBAULT. 



BY GEN. H. H. SIBLET. 

Bartholomew Faribault, the father of the subject of this 
memoir, wa^ born in Paris, France. He was by profession a 
lawyer, and he was so prominent, that he received from the 
government the important appointment of Military Secretary 
to the French army in Canada, then under the command of 
Montcalm. He came to Canada, entered upon his duties, and 
continued to discharge them until the 12th September, 1759, 
the day which witnessed the defeat of the French under the 
walls of Quebec, by the British forces commanded by the gal- 
lant General Wolfb, who with his heit>ic antagonist Montcalm, 
fell in the action. 

Mr. Faribault thereafter retired to private life at Berthier, 
Canada. He held the office of Notary Public uotil the close 
of his life, in 1801. He died universally respected in the 
community. His son, Jean Baptists, was bom at Berthier in 
1774, being one of a family of ten children, of whom only four 
attained mature age. He attended school until sixteen years 
old, when he was engaged as clerk by a merchant named 
Thurseau, living in Quebec, with whom he remained two years. 
He then was employed by the firm of McNidbs & Company, 
importers, in the same city. He continued in their service for 
a term of six years. Although treated by his employers with 
great kindness and consideration, young Faribault was of too 
rcAtive and adventurous a disposition to be contented longer 
with the monotony of a residence in town. It was only by the 
combined influence and persuasion of his kindred and friends, 
that he was prevented from encountering the hardships and 
dangers of a sailor's life, for which he had early manifested a 
decided inclination. While thus thwarted, and still uncertain 



KEMOnt OF J. B. FABIBA0LT. 169 

as to his future mode of life, an incident occurred which bat 
for the strong remonstrances of his friends, would have resulted 
in his entering upon a military career. Prince Edwabp of 
England, and his brother Prince William Hbnrt were in 
Canada, the former in command of a favorite regiment. 
Faribault witnessed the mancBuvres of this fine body of men, 
and was so much struck by the brilliancy of the display^ that 
he proceeded to place on canvass a very creditable picture of 
the regiment and its ofiScers, albeit he had never received any 
instruction in painting. The production was shown to Prince 
Edwakd, who was pleased with it, so much so indeed, that he 
proffered to the young artist a commission as junior ofiScer in 
his regiment. Faribault declined the honor, but requested 
the Prince to bestow the commission upon a fellow clerk named 
De Salsburt, which was done, and the appointee joined the 
regiment accordingly, and subsequently became a prominent 
and distinguished officer in the British service during the war 
of 1812-14. 

Shortly after this episode, the Northwest Fur Company, 
whose operations embraced a large portion of the Northwest, 
desired to secure the services of three or four young and enter- 
prising men to act as traders among the Indians. In spite of 
the opposition of his family, young Faribault, carried away 
by the romance and adventure of a life among the savages in 
a remote part of the country, offered himself, and was accepted. 
He, with three other young men, were dispatched, under the 
charge of two agents of the Company, in May, 1798, to their 
several fields of labor. They proceeded to Montreal, thence 
from the head of the rapids on Grand river they wended their 
long and weary way in what was termed a light canoe, com- 
posed of birch bark, to the distant island of Michilimackinac, 
now called Mackinac. The fare of the travelers was not by 
any means luxurious, being composed principally of salt pork, 
hard bread and biscuit, while the laboring portion of the crew 
had to content themselves with hulled corn, seasoned with a 
small amount of tallow. There were many portages, so called, 
on the route, where, in consequence of rapids, or other ob- 
structions to navigation, it was necessary to transport the 
canoe, provisions and baggage sometimes for miles on the 



170 MINNESOTA HI8TOBIGAL C0LLBCTI0N8. 

shoalders of the men. After a long and tedious voyage of 
fifteen days the island of Mackinac was reached, much to the 
joy of the wearied adventurers. 

The station or trading post to which young FARiBAnLT was 
assigned was that of Kankakee, on the river of that name, not 
very far from the present site of the city of Chicago. That 
region being under the jurisdiction of the United States, it was 
a necessary preliminary that a license to trade be obtained 
from the proper authorities. To obtain this document, Fari- 
bault was dispatched, under the guidance of a Fotawattomie 
Indian, to Port Vincent, on the Wabash river, where Governor 
Harrison, of the Northwestern Territory, Acting Superintend- 
ent of Indian Affairs, was stationed. A ride of six days with 
a guide with whom it was not possible to interchange a single 
intelligible sentence, could not prove, by any means, to be 
either profitable or interesting. On his arrival at Port Vin- 
cent, he was kindly received by Governor Harrison, hospitably 
entertained at the Governor's residence for three or four days, 
when, armed with the proper authorization, he departed for the 
post of duty assigned to him at Kankakee. On his way, he 
remained over night at the trading house of one McEbnzib, at 
the mouth of the St. Joseph's river, where the four men or voy- 
ageurs, who had been dispatched to join him, were expected to 
be found. Unfortunately, one of these four had fallen sick 
and died in the interim, so that Faribault was compelled to 
proceed to his station with but three men, upon whom was de- 
volved the labor of erecting buildings and other adjuncts for a 
regular trading post. No wise discouraged, Mr. Faribault 
arrived at the mouth of the Kankakee, the goods and merchan- 
dise followed soon afterwards, and while the men occupied 
themselves with the construction of winter quarters, he opened 
a brisk and successful trade with the Fotawattomie Indians. 

Mackinac and Drummond's Island were at that time the de- 
pots of the trade of the Northwest Fur Company. Mr. Fari- 
bault proceeded in the spring with his men, and the furs and 
peltries collected during the winter, to the first named post, 
where he delivered his valuable returns to the duly authorized 
agent of the Ck>mpany, Mr. Gillespie. 

Mr. Faribault had displayed so much business tact during 



MEMOIR OF J. B. FARIBAULT. l71 

the first winter's operations, that Mr. Gillbspik, with his con- 
sent, assigned him to the charge of a more important post on 
the Des Moines river, about two hundred miles above its mouth, 
on the west side of the Mississippi river. The post was named 
Bedwood, and the Indians with whom he was to trade were the 
Dakota or Sioux, speaking a language entirely different from 
that of the Potawattomies — the latter being a branch of and 
speaking the dialect of the great Algonquin or OJibwa stock. 
Consequently he required the aid of an interpreter, and a man 
named Deban was designated for that position. He was old, 
having lived many years among the Yankton Sioux, and was 
well acquainted with their character and their language. With 
his aid a successful trade was carried on with the savages, and 
Mr. Faribault, the following spring, according to the instruc- 
tions he had received, wended his way with the furd he had 
collected to the mouth of the Des Moines river, and delivered 
them to Mr. Crawford, one of the accredited agents of the 
Company. Mr. Faribault was continued four years in the 
charge of the same trading post. During this long period be 
saw no white man but his own assistants, except on his annual 
tour to the mouth of the river. The region where he was sta- 
tioned abounded with beaver, otter, deer, bear, and other wild 
animals, and was the favorite resort of the Sioux bands, of the 
Sacs and Foxes, the lowas, and other tribes, with whom the 
Sioux were on amicable terms. , 

The wages of a good clerk at that time was $200 per an- 
num ; interpreter $150, and common laborers or voyageurs $100, 
and the rations allowed them were of the simplest description. 
But the abundance of game more than compensated for any 
deficiency in food. The articles used in the trade with the In- 
dians were principally blankets, cloths, calicoes, tobacco and 
cheap Jewelry, including wampum, which latter served in lieu 
of money, as a basis of exchange. During the winter the 
traders and their men ensconced themselves in their warm log 
cabin^4 biqb in the early spring it was required of them to visit 
the various Indian camps to secure the furs and peltries col- 
lected by the savages in their hunts. Goods were not then 
given on credit, but everything was paid for on delivery. 

While employed at the post on the Des Moines, Mr. Faribault 
23 



y 



172 MIMNBBOTA HISTORICAL OOLLBGTION8. 

narrowly escaped assassination at the hands of a half-breed, 
who was Jealous of the intrusion of a white man into this fa- 
vored land. 

Having served the term for which he had been engaged, he 
returned to Mackinac, with the intention of going back to 
Canada, but having learned of the sudden death of both his 
parents within fifteen days of each other, Mr. Faribault again 
entered the service of his former employers, and was dis- 
patched to the river St. Peter's, now the Minnesota river, and 
took charge of the post at Little Rapids, about forty miles 
above its mouth. The band of Sioux Indians with whom he 
traded were named WaJc-pay ton^ or the ^^ People of the Leaf." 
A man by the name of LaPointe was assigned him as inter- 
preter. During the winter of 1804-5, Mr. Faribault made 
the acquaintance of a trader named Campbell, whose trading 
station was about fifteen miles below Little Rapids. Mr. 
Campbell was an independent trader, and had two clerks in 
his employ, both of whom were subsequently killed by an In- 
dian, whose daughter was the wife of one of them. This wo- 
man was not of good character, and having been reprimanded 
for her bad conduct by her husband, a Canadian Frenchman, 
named Dbcotbaux, her father incontinently disposed of his 
sou-in-law by shooting him, and he also shot the other clerk, 
who was the only witness of the murder, with a hope of escap- 
ing detection and punishment. Mr. Campbell boldly accused 
the savage of being the perpetrator of the double crime, where- 
upon the Indian determined to serve him as he had served the 
clerk& He summoned to his aid some of his kindred, and re- 
paired to Campbell's house, where Mr. Faribault happened to 
be at the time. Campbell barred his doors, and, with the as- 
sistance of his friend and hired men, prepared to defend him- 
self. The Indian mounted upon the roof of the cabin, and 
was peering down the chimney, when he received a ball through 
the Jaw from a rifle in the hands of Campbell, which felled 
him to the ground ; another of the savages was shot through 
the nose, when the besiegers decamped, more than satisfied 
with their experience. Both Campbell and Faribault were 
deterred from venturing abroad for some days, lest they should 
be assassinated by some concealed Indian. 



MEMOnt OF J. B. FARIBAULT. 173 

DuriDg the third year of his residence at Little Rapids, Mr. 
Faribault married a widow, the daughter of a Mr. Hanse, 
who had been previoasly Superintendent of Indian Affairs. 
At the time of their marriage the groom was in his 81st and 
the bride in her 22d year. This event precluded any idea of 
Mr. F.'s return to Canada. He was thenceforth permanently 
established as a denizen of the remote Northwest. 

Mr. Faribault was soon called upon to deplore the untimely 
death of his friend Camfbbll, which occurred in this wise. 
Mr. Campbell, as has been stated, was an independent trader 
in opposition to the Northwest Fur Company, and the antago- 
nism in this, as well as in many similar instances, degenerated 
into bitter personalities. One Crawford, a brother of the 
agent heretofore mentioned, took up the quarrel of the Com-^ 
pany against Campbell, and challenged him to mortal combat. 
Campbell was a brave man, of fine physique, while his adver- 
sary was decrepid, and withal by no means otherwise the equal 
of Campbell in the public estimation. Notwithstanding the 
remonstrances of his friends, who represented the disparity in 
the standing of the two men, Campbell accepted the challenge, 
and the parties with their respective friends, proceeded to 
Mackinac and thence to a small island at the mouth of the 
river St. Mary's, near Drummond's Island, where the duel took 
place. Campbell was shot dead at the first fire, and Craw- 
ford was slightly wounded. The descendants of the two 
combatants do not seem to have continued the feud, inasmuch 
as Mr. Crawford's grandson, La Chapelle, is married to Mr. 
Campbell's grand-daughter, and is now a resident of Wabasha 
in this State. 

Mr. Faribault was at Mackinac when he received the Intel- 
ligence of the death of his friend Campbell, and it shocked 
him exceedingly, as a strong attachment had existed be- 
tween them. On his return to the upper Mississippi, he was 
agreeably surprised when he had reached Prairie du Chien, 
where he had left his wife with her friends, to find that a boy 
had been born to them during his absence. This firstborn is 
still living in the person of Mr. Alexander Faribault, the 
founder, and still a highly respected citizen, of Faribault, in 
Rice county, in this State. 



174 MINKBSOTA HI8TORIOAL OOLLBOTIONS. 

In the fall of 1808, Mr. F. having ascertained that the Sioax 
bands at Little Rapids had decided to make war upon the 
Chippewas, instead of hunting as usual, concluded that it 
would be more profitable to pass the winter among his old 
friends the Yankton Sioux, on the Des Moines river. He 
incurred very great danger on his way to the post, with his 
voyageurs and goods, from the Iowa tribe of Indians, who 
being without a trader, endeavored to force Mr. F. to remain 
with them. Upon his refusal to do so, they threatened to kill 
him and appropriate his merchandise, and he was only rescued 
from the dilemma by the appearance of a large party of Yank- 
tons, who escorted him in safety to his station. He was quite 
successfhl in his trading venture, and in the spring he made 
his way with his returns of furs and skins to Mackinac, the 
great depot of the Indian trade. 

Mr. F., after ten years' connection with the Northwest Com- 
pany, in the capacity of agent and trader, resolved to begin 
business on his own account at Prairie du Chien, which was 
then a mere hamlet containing a few families. He erected a 
suitable house, and commenced trading with the Winnebagoes, 
the Foxes and the Sioux of the Wak-pa-koota band, these sev- 
eral tribes being at peace with each other. He continued in 
this business for a number of years, and on one occasion re- 
ceived a dangerous wound in the side from the knife of a 
drunken Winnebago, to whom he had refused liquor. In addi- 
tion to the regular trade with Indians, Mr. F. entered upon an 
exchange of goods for lead, with a Mr. Dubcqce, at the point 
now occupied by the city of that name. The lead was taken 
to St. Louis in keel-boats, and sold there at a good profit. 
Fifteen days was considered a good average trip up the Mis- 
sissippi from St. Louis to Prairie du Chien. 

When the war of 1812 was declared, the British Government 
made great efforts to enlist the Indians of the Northwest 
against the Americans. Knowing the great influence wielded 
by the traders among these savages, commissions in the Brit- 
ish army were tendered to each of them, and they were ac- 
cepted by all but Messrs. Faribault and Provbn9Alle, who 
declined to take any part against the American Grovernment. 
The subject of this memoir was consequently arrested by a 



MEMOIR OF J. B. FABIBAULT. 175 

Col. McCall, of the British militia service, aud held as a pris- 
ODer on a gunboat, commanded by a Capt. Hendebson, on 
board of which were two hundred men, et route to Prairie du 
Chien to dislodge the Americans. He was ordered to take his 
turn at the oar, but absolutely refhsed, saying he was a gentle- 
man, and not accustomed to that kind of labor. Capt. Hen- 
debson reported him to Col. McCall for disobedience, but the 
latter, admiring his pluck, not only did not punish him, but re- 
ceived him on board his own boat, and treated him with cour- 
tesy and kindness. 

The combined force of militia and Indians, upon their arrival 
at Prairie du Chien, made preparations to attack the American 
post. The families on the outside of the fort abandoned their 
homes, some of them taking refuge within the stockade, and 
others, Mrs. Faribault among the number, ascended the river 
in canoes to what is now called Winona. Mrs. F. supposed 
her husband to have proceeded to Mackinac, and had no idea 
that he was a prisoner in the hands of the attacking party. A 
bombardment was opened on the fort, and on the third day the 
Americans surrendered to greatly superior numbers. Mean- 
time the deserted habitations were robbed of all their contents 
by the savages, and Mr. F., in addition to the losses thus sus- 
tained, received the unwelcome intelligence that lead belonging 
to him of the value of $3,000, which he had left in charge of 
Dubuque at his trading station, had been taken possession of 
by the hostile Indians, and been distributed among them. 

After the surrender of Prairie du Chien, that post was gar- 
risoned by 200 British regulars. Mr. F. was released on pa- 
role, and repaired to his former home, but the buildings had 
been burnt with their contents by the savages, and his stock of 
horses and cattle either run off or destroyed. He was thus 
left almost penniless, but, with his usual energy, he set himself 
industriously to work to retrieve his shattered fortune. The 
band of Sioux with whom Mrs. F. had taken refuge had re- 
mained neutral during the war, and they manifested their warm 
friendship for the old trader by bringing him game in abund- 
ance, and all the furs and skins they could collect from their 
hunts. 

When peace was proclaimed. Col. Bolgbb, the British com- 



176 MINNESOTA HISTOBICAL COLLBCTIONft. 

mander of the post at Prairie du Chien, withdrew his forces 
after having destroyed the buildings and stockade, and pro- 
ceeded to Mackinac. The following spring a detachment of 
American riflemen under Col. Chambers rebuilt and garrisoned 
the fort. Mr. Faribault in due form declared his intention 
to become a citizen of the United States, and a militia com- 
pany having been organized, he received the appointment of 
First Lieutenant. The Northwest Fur Company not being 
permitted to continue their business upon American territory, 
sold out their interests to the American Fur Company, of 
which John Jacob Astor was the head. Joseph Rolette was 
constituted the Agent of the newly-formed association in the 
Northwest, and Mr. Faribault made arrangements with him 
for a sup()ly of such merchandise as was requisite for his trade. 
He continued at Prairie duXhien for a period of three years, 
and was quite successAil in business. At the end of that time 
he removed his trading station to Pike's Island, near the pres- 
ent Fort Snelling. This was done at the suggestion of Col. 
Leavenworth, who was en route up the Mississippi to establish 
a military post at or near the Junction of that river with the 
St. Peters, now Minnesota. Having fallen in with Mr. Fari- 
bault at Prairie du Chien, Col. Leavenworth was much 
impressed with the intelligence and extensive knowledge of 
the Sioux Indians, their character and habits, displayed by 
that gentleman, and strongly urged him to accompany the 
command, promising that if he would locate near the contem- 
plated post he should be guaranteed military protection and 
encouragement in his business. The trade at Prairie du Chien 
had diminished very much in consequence of the removal of 
the Indians to better hunting grounds, so that Mr. F. regarded 
the offer as highly advantageous, and he accepted it without 
hesitation. Leaving his family behind, he followed the troops 
to their destination the succeeding spring, and was provided 
with quarters by Col. Leavenworth until he could erect suita- 
ble buildings for himself. In this he was inaterially aided by 
his military friends. Mr. F. in addition to his regular business, 
had a strong penchant for farming, which inclination he had 
a good opportunity to gratify on ^^ Pike's Island," where his 
log cabins were situated. He soon had a goodly number of 



MSMOIB OF J. B. FARIBAULT. 177 

acres ander cultivation, and was favored with good crops, so 
that he and his family, who had rejoined him, were contented 
and happy for the space of two entire years. In June of the 
third year, there occurred a flood in the Mississippi, which 
covered the island and carried off or destroyed all his moveable 
property. Nowise discouraged, he crossed to the east bank of 
the river, and erected a dwelling and storehouse on a plateau 
which he deemed to be above high water mark. He was kindly 
assisted as before by the oflScers of the post, and was soon 
comfortably established once more. But the fates had more III 
in store for him, for in 1826, four years later, the ice gorged 
above the fort to such an extent that the river rose many feet 
beyond the highest mark previously known, and when the bar- 
rier gave way under the enormous pressure, the torrent carried 
with it Faribault's buildings and their contents, and his stock 
of animals. It was indeed fortunate for him that he had received 
a friendly warning from Col. Shelling, who had succeeded to 
the command of the post bearing his name, of the threatening 
condition of the river, and provided him with a Mackinac boat, 
by means of which he saved the lives of himself, his wife and 
children, and secured his valuable collection of furs and skins. 
No such flood as that of 1826 has ever occurred in this region, 
if the testimony of the oldest Indians, and of white men who 
had been fifty years in the country is to be credited. 

Fort Snelling was commenced in 1819, and completed in 
1824. The first barracks for the troops was constructed on 
the south bank of the Minnesota river, near the site of the 
present railroad bridge. Well founded apprehensions of high 
•water caused the removal of these temporary quarters to Camp 
Coldwater, about a mile north of the present fort, which was 
occupied until Snelling was finished. 

In the year 1821, Col. Leavenworth called together the 
chiefs and head men of the Sioux bands, and procured from 
them a grant of land nine miles square at the Junction of the 
Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. In the same treaty was 
Inserted an article by which the Indians donated ^'Pike's 
Island" to the wife and children of Mr. F., whose Indian 
appellation was " Cha-pah-sin-tat," or the '' Beaver's Tail." 

Subsequent to the flood in 1826, by which Mr. F. suffered 



178 XimCESOTA HISTOBICAL COLLRCnONS. 

SO mach, he removed to the spot now called Mendota, where he 
erected a dweliiag, and his family lived there for many years, 
he himself passing the winters at the Little Rapids, where he 
had established a trading post. He narrowly escaped death in 
1883 at his station, at the hands of a treacherous Sioax Indian, 
who became enraged because he could not procure some 
article he desired on credit, which Mr. Fabibaclt did not have 
in his store. Without saying a word, the savage drew his 
knife and stabbed Mr. F. in the back, under the shoulder 
blade, when leaving the knife sticking in the wound, he turned 
to make his escape, but would have been shot down by Oliver, 
a son of the old gentleman, aged about fourteen years, had not 
the gun been seized by Indians standing by who were' relatives 
of the intended murderer. The wound was a very serious one, 
the knife having penetrated the lungs, and a long time elapsed 
before Mr. F. was considered out of danger ; but his vigorous 
constitution and temperate habits finally carried him safely 
through, and his health was restored. Mrs. Faribault mani- 
fested her devotion to her husband by a walk during the night 
of thirty-five miles from Mendota to Little Rapids, so soon as 
she learned of the injury he had received, without any escort 
but that of a single Indian. 

Mr. Faribault was a warm Roman Catholic, and was liberal 
in his donations to the church. He gave a home in his house 
to the Rev. Father Gaultibr, the first regular Catholic mis- 
sionary, who came to this region in 1840, and afforded him all 
the aid in his power in the arduous labors incident to the 
founding of a new mission. Father Gaultibr was succeeded 
by Rev. Father Ravoux, now Vicar General of the diocese of 
St. Paul, and he also received from the subject of this memoir 
substantial and valuable assistance. 

Mr. F. survived his wife and all but four children of a largo 
family. There remain but three of this number living, Alex- 
ander, already mentioned, Emilt, the wife of Major Fowler 
late of the U. S. army, both of whom reside in Faribault, and 
David, who lives on a farm on the Cheyenne river, within the 
limits of the Sioux reservation. The death of Mr. F. took 
place at his daughter's house in Faribault on the 20th day of 
August, 1860, he having attained the advanced age of eighty- 



KEMOIB OF J. B. FARIBAULT. 179 

seven years. He closed his eyes apon things earthly, after 
witnessing the marvelous changes wrought by civilization in 
the region which had for so many years been his abiding place, 
sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaint- 
ances. Among the pioneers of Minnesota, there are none 
whose memory and whose name better deserve to be respected 
and perpetuated, than Jean Baptists Fabibault. Bequiescat 
in pace. 



U 



MEMOIR OF CAPT. MARTIN SCOH. 



BY J. F. W. 

Among the many noted and remarkable persons who have 
been prominently connected with Northwestern history, Capt. 
Martin Scott was one of the most singular. Materials from 
which to frame a biography of him are very meagre, and what 
few I have, are drawn from a variety of sources, but are, I 
believe, reliable. 

Mabtin Scott was born in Bennington, Vt., Jan. 17, 1788. 
His familv were humble people, and his advantages of educa- 
tion ill early life exceedingly limited. He was noted, even In 
his boyhood, for his daring and courage, and fondness for field 
sports — a passion that clung to him even in old age. 

When the war of 1812 broke out, young Scott promptly 
enlisted in what was afterwards known as the famous ^^ Green 
Mountain Boys." He served with credit, and by a commission 
dated Apnl 21, 1814, was promoted as a second lieutenant in 
the Twenty-Sixth Infantr}', and in May following, advanced 
to the rank of first lieutenant. During the war he served with 
conspicuous gallantry and distinction, and attracted the atten- 
tion of many of his superior officers, and though mustered out 
of the service when the army was reduced at the close of the 
war in 1815, the reputation he had gained procured for him 
subsequently an appointment in the regular army. His com • 
mission, which conferred on him a second lieutenancy in the 
Rifles, was dated April, 1818, and the subsequent year he was 
promoted to a first lieutenancy. 

In May, 1821, he was transferred, with the same rank, to 
the Fifth Infantry, in which he served, with various promotions, 
until his death, a period of twenty-six years. 



MEMOIR OF CAPT. MABTIM SCOTT. 181 

Capt. Scott having been appointed from civil life, and being 
somewhat unpolished in his manners, and uneducated, was 
looked on with much coldness by his brother oflScers when he 
entered the Rifles, they being mostly of aristocratic families, 
and graduates of West Point. His habits, too, were very 
economical, a result, in part, of the poverty of his early life. 
All these things caused Soott to be intensely disliked, and no 
opportunity was lost to snub him and treat him with contempt 
and indignity. Finally, with two or three exceptions, they 
refused all intercourse with him, hoping to drive him to resign. 
These persecutions and annoyances were carried to the farthest 
extreme that they dared, as no one was willing to give Scott 
the insult direct, which would have justified him in challenging 
them, as he was known to be one of the most courageous men 
and '' dead shots " in the army. 

The surgeon of the regiment, Dr. John Gale, was one of 
the officers who was still on good terms with Scon, and of him 
ScoiT asked advice as to how he should act in the case. Dr. 
Gale told him there were only two alternatives. One was to 
resign and be driven from the service, or to challenge the fii'st 
one who gave him an insult direct. Scott resolved on the 
latter course. 

As intimated above, none of the oflScers wished to '^ bell the 
cat," although each hoped some other one would call Scott 
out, and give him a quietus. At last one of the oflScers per- 
suaded a relative of his, named Keith, a dissipated adventurer 
who held a lieutenant's commission in the Rifles, though sta- 
tioned at another post, to bear the brunt of their spite, and 
take the chances of a duel with Scott. Keith was a Virginian 
by birth, and a practiced duelist, and was at the time, half 
dead with consumption. Pleased at the prospect, no doubt, 
of another encounter to add to his list of ^^ afiairs of honor," 
(for he had already killed several antagonists), Keith readily 
consented to fight Scott, saying, in his reckless, dare-devil 
way, '* he expected to die soon anyhow, and it didn't make 
any difference if Scott did kill him," — but in point of fact, he 
hoped to kill Scott, as he was a splendid shot. Keith took 
an early opportunity to insult Scott in the presence of the 
mess, so pointedly that there could be only one reply, and that 



182 MINHBSOTA HISTORICAL C0LLBCTI0K8. 

Scott soon sent him in the shape of a challenge. The only 
officer in the regiment who would consent to act as Scott's 
second, was a young man who had conceived a liking for him, 
and had not joined in the conspiracy against him. Dr. Gale 
aUo acted as his confidant and friend. 

Keith and bis abettors, knowing Scott's deadly aim and 
cool, steady nerves, endeavored to render both unsteady by a 
cowardly artifice. The spot chosen for the duel was a ravine 
near the post. Thither they secretly sent a detachment of 
men the night previous, and dug a grave on the spot where the 
duelists were to stand. Shortly after sunrise the principals, 
with their seconds and other officers, repaired to the field. 
Arriving there, while the seconds were '^ tossing " for position, 
Keith remarked in a tone intentionally loud enough to be 

heard by Scott — " I will shoot the d Yankee through the 

guts." SooTT had really intended before the encounter, to fire 
in the air, and not at his antagonist, but on hearing this 
remark, ho became assured ihat it was a plot to kill him,^nd 
made up his mind accordingly. He merely remarked to his 
attendant — '' I shall shoot him through at the first button of 
the coat." His pistol was handed him, and Scon, to see if 
his aim had been affected by the artifices used, drew a bead on 
some object, and found his nerves as steady as steel. '^ I knew 
I had him then" he remarked, in giving the account of the 
affair to my informant, (Gen. Siblet.) Time was called. The 
word was given, and both pistols rang out sharply on the 
morning air at the same instant. Keith staggered and fell, 
the blood pouring from his mouth and nose, and from a buUet 
hole close by tlie first hvUon on his coat! His friends advanced 
and picked him up, while to their great chagrin, Scon walked 
away apparently unhurt. 

But he did not escape entirely unhurt. The aim of Keith 
was true. He had shot Scon through the bowels, as he prom- 
ised, though fortunately the wound was not necessarily fatal. 
The ball passed through his body without much injury to any 
vital part, but struck the edge of the spine, splitting ofi a small 
piece. The agony of the wound, he said, was excruciating, 
but sustained by his intense pride and strong will, Scott man- 
aged to walk away with flj'm step, and without exhibiting any 



MEMOIR OF OAPT. MABTIK SOdT. 188 

marks of Buffering. His nerves sustained him until he reached 
his room, when he fell fainting on the floor. Dr. Gale found 
him here a few minutes later, and had him carefully attended 
to. His escape from death was narrow. Had the ball struck 
the spine fairly, it would have produced death. As it was, 
Scorr was confined to hi^ bed for many days, but his iron 
constitution and fine health brought him out soon without any 
impairment of either. 

Keith was at first thought to be mortally wounded, but 
strange to say, the wound prolonged hUr life. It produced a 
counter-irritation that relieved his diseased lungs, and he is 
said to have lived for several years, when otherwise he must 
necessarily have died in a few months. 

This event put an end to the persecution of Scott. He had 
forced their respect, at least, by his coolness and bravery. At 
the next mess table which he was able to attend, he mentioned, 
so as to be heard by all, that henceforth any insulting act or 
words would be noticed by him, and the author promptly called 
to the field, but no one dared to commit any overt act of that 
character. He was soon after transferred, as mentioned be- 
fore^ to the Fifth Infantry, a change no doubt agreeable to him. 

SooTT came to Fort Snelling with his company (G, Fifth 
Infantry) about 1821 — the exact date I do not now find, and 
was stationed at that post most of the time until about the 
year 1840, or perhaps later. He served on special duty in all 
parts of the Northwest, from Pembina to Fort Dearborn, 
(Chicago,) and from Lake Michigan to the Missouri River, 
and was widely known among the early settlers of what is now 
Wisconsin and Minnesota, thirty years ago. Many amusing 
stories are related of his peculiarities. 

Scott's sole passion seemed to be field sports. He always 
kept one or more fine horses, a pack of hunting dogs, several 
guns, and a negro servant to take charge of his animals. His 
hunting ground ranged from Prairie du Chien to Fort Snell- 
ing, and he must have been familiar with every portion of it. 
According to the accounts I have heard of his prowess, whole 
hecatombs of bear, deer, elk, buffalo, wolves, and other ani- 
mals, must have fallen by his hand. A stream in Wisconsin, 
called *^ Bloody Run," is said to have been so named, because 



184 MINNESOTA HI8TORIOAL COLLBCTION8. 

a favorite banting place of Capt. Scott, and on account of the 
quantities of game he had slaughtered along its banks. 

All accounts concerning his marksmanship so agree, that 
there can be no doubt his skill in that line was marvelous. 
One of his common pistol feats, was taking two potntoes, 
throwing them into the air successively, and watching until 
they came ^^ in range," pntting a bullet through both. He 
used to place an apple on the head of his negro servant, and 
wiih his rifle or pistol, send a ball through it. With a shot, 
gun, he was an unerring marksman, and the bird that rose 
near him was sure to be brought down. While at Fort Snell- 
ing, he had at one time, 20 or 25 dogs, and mounted on his 
splendid black horse, used to delight in scouring the prairies 
and valleys after wolves and foxes. Gen. Siblbt often accom- 
panied him in these chases, and as the latter had a good ken- 
nel also, of various breeds, the yelp of the combined packs 
when in full cry after a quarry, must have awakened the echoes 
of the bluffs in a way never equaled since. And it took a 
brave bold rider to follow Capt. Scon. No obstacle seemed 
to daunt him, and his famous black steed partook of his own 
spirit in that respect. 

His marksmanship, and prowess as a hunter, became at one 
time of almost national fame, and many have almost classed 
him along with Daniel Boone, or Davt Crockett, or looked 
on him as a mythical character. Who has not heard the 
famous ^' coon story *' concerning him? It has given rise to a 
national slang expression — ^' to come down like Capt. Scott's 
coon," being familiar to every one. The story first originated 
in a political paper in New York (Utica, I believe) during an 
excited campaign, possibly in 1840. The editor spoke of 
some opponent ^^ coming down, or surrendering, like Capt. 
Scott's coon." On being asked the meaning of the expres- 
sion, he explained it somewhat as follows : Capt. Scott and 
several fiiends were out hunting, and got separated. As they 
passed along) one of them spied a coon sitting on the top 
limb of a high tree, and took a shot at him, but without effect. 
He passed on, and soon the next repeated the effort, with like 
result ; and then another and another, until all had failed. 
After a while Capt. Scott came up, and seeing the coon, drew 



HBMOIR OF CAFT. MARTIN SCOTT. 185 

a bead on it, aDd was about to fire, when the coon called oat, 
"Who is that?" The Capt. replied, "My name is Scott." 
" Scott? what Scott?" "Capt. Martin Scott," was the re- 
ply. "Are you Capt. Martin Scott?" retorted the coon. 
" Then hold on — don't shoot ; I may as well come down." Of 
course this made great amusement. It was widely copied by 
the press, and soon Captc.ScoTT'8 coon became a national by- 
word. 

Ebatino, in his interesting work on " Maj. Long's expedition 
to the sources of the St. Peter's river, in 1823," relates a very 
characteristic incident of Capt. Scott. The expedition had 
orders to proceed to Fort Snelling, (or " Fort St. Anthony," 
as it was called then,) where Col. Snbllino, of the 5th 
Infantry, was to furnish it with an escort to proceed to Pem- 
bina, via Big Stone Lake. Capt. Scott was designated by 
the Secretary of War to command the military escort. Col. 
Snslling, however, was secretly hostile to Capt. Scott, and 
resolved to deprive him of this honor. When the expedition 
reached Fort St. Anthony, Col. S. pretended that he could not 
spare enough men from his command just then, but would send 
Captain Scott to Prairie du Chien for the necessary force, and 
on his return the escort would be provided. Scott conse- 
quently started for Prairie du Chien with Mackinac boats, and 
having very favorable winds on the return voyage, made the 
trip in an unprecedented short space of time. But what was 
his astonishment to find, on his arrival at the Fort, that the 
expedition had set out immediately after his departure, in 
command of Capt. Dennt, another officer, and were now far on 
their way. Scott was furious at this treatment, but resolved 
to disappoint the evident object of it. He demanded from the 
commanding officer the right, which he had under tbe orders 
of the War Department, to follow and overtake the expedition. 
This could not be refused him, but he was allowed an escort 
of only four men, and to carry supplies, one old, worn-out 
pack-horse, incapable of a day*s work. But, nothing daunted, 
he set out with this equipment. As he had anticipated, the 
horse broke doiivn the first day, and was abandoned, the men 
packing their provisions on their backs. In this manner they 
advanced as rapidly as possible, for several days, until their 



186 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLBOTIONS. 

provisions gave out Soott carried his anerring rifle^ bat no 
game could be found — not even birds. Finally their shoes 
wore out, and the men were almost barefooted. Soott now saw 
that his chance of overtaking the main party was small. He 
therefore ordered the soldiers to make the best of their way 
back to the fort, and he pushed on alone. For two entire days 
he was without a morsel of food, but his iron constitution kept 
bim up, and he made forced marches every day. Finally he 
overtook the party, to their great surprise, on the Bois des 
Sioux River, and commanded it during the rest of the expe- 
dition. 

Soott was free firom many vices which army ofQcers at that 
period were addicted to. He had never played a game of 
cards, or drank a glass of liquor, or used tobacco in his life. 
As before remarked, his habits were very economical. As he 
was unmarried until quite late in life,^ and apparently had no 
object for saving his money, this was taken by his brother 
ofQcers for mere meanness, and excited more or less prejudice 
against him. He was always very reserved about his own 
affairs, or his family, and it was not until after his death that 
it was known that Soott had during his army life contributed 
considerable of his pay to supporting or aiding several of his 
relatives who were in need of such assistance. On one occa- 
sion, after he had served in the West for a number of years, he 
resolved lo pay a visit to his old home. He had left there a 
poor farmer's boy, and wished to return in such a way that no 
one would recognize him. He drove a magnificent white horse 
in a gig, and his negro servant, dressed in livery, rode his 
black thoroughbred. And what made his equipage more sin- 
gular, his pack of about 20 blooded dogs accompanied bim. 
He drove in this style through the streets of Bennington, and 
halted at the inn, the center of a crowd of wondering citizens, 
not one of whom recognized him however. He took a scat by 
the window, and shortly after, he saw his brother passing with 
a yoke of oxen. He at once went out . and hailed him with, 
*^ You have a fine yoke of oxen there, my friend ; do they 

1 Col. Soott was married at Rochester, N. Y., to Miss Latiiiia MoOhaoxsk, 
daughter of Gabdhbb McCbackin, Esq., of that cltr, In May, 1841. Mrs. Soott was 
ioat on the steamer Arctte, in 18fiC 



HEKOIB OF CAFT. MABTIN SCOTT. 187 

belong to you, sir?" " No," replied the brother, who did not 
recognize him, '' I wish they did — bat I am not able to pur- 
chase them. They belong to one of my neighbors." Scott 
inquired what they could be had for, and on learning the sum, 
handed him the amount, saying he would make him a present 
of the oxen. This unexpected and extraordinary liberality 
from a perfect stranger, quite overcame the brother, who me- 
chanically took the money and stammered out his thanks, 
wondering if it was not all a dream. 

Capt. Scott then questioned him farther, concerning his 
means, &c. He said he lived on a small farm near by, which 
he rented^ and had much difBculty in making a living for his 
family. Capt. Scott asked what sum the owner would proba- 
bly ask for the farm. On being informed, he said that he would 
like to make him a present of that, too. His brother, who 
had been attentively gazing at him during the parley, now 
recc^nized him, and the greeting between the two brothers 
was such as might be expected. They literally ^* fell upon 
each other's necks and wept," and went home together with 
hearts overflowing with happiness . 

But I must bring this sketch to a close. Capt. Soott, as is* 
well known, fell during the Mexican war. He had been pro- 
moted firom the Lieutenancy he held when he entered the Fifth 
Infantry, to the rank of Captain in 1828, and Major in 1846, 
for gallant conduct at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. He 
commanded his raiment at Monterey, and was brevetted Lieut. 
Col. for gallant and meritorious conduct in the severe conflicts 
at that place. On Sept. 8, 1847, while bravely leading his 
regiment at Molino del Bey, a bullet pierced his breast. Feel- 
ing the wound to be mortal, he took his watch and pocketbook, 
and handing them to one of the officers, said '^ give these to 
my wife," and expired.^ A brother officer. Gen. R. B. Marct, 
D. S. A., has written concerning him — ^' He was a pleasant 
companion, an honorable man, and a gallant soldier. I most 
sincerely respect his memory, and with all my heart say. Peace 
to his ashes." 

1 CoL 8ooTT*8 remains were sabseqaently removed to Bennington, and a neat 
monnment erected over thenu 
26 



NAPEHSHNEEDOOTA: 



THE FIRST MALE DAKOTA CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY. 

BY BBV. T. S. WILLIAMSON. 

The first full-blooded Dakota man, baptized and gathered 
into the church of Christ, departed this life in July, 1870, near 
Lac qui Parle, where he was baptized. Some incidents of his 
life show the power of the Gospel among the aborigines of 
our country, and the trials of the first converts among them. 
His name is Naps Shneedoota, which signifies the '^ Bed man 
who flees not." He was baptized by the name of Joseph, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1840, when about forty years old. He was a son of 
the sister of Mrs. Rbnyillb, wife of the trader, and claimed 
kindred with some of the principal chiefs of the nation ; above 
the average height, well formed, and with a good countenance, 
indicative of intelligence, kindness and honesty. His wife 
was received at the same time, and he brought four children to 
be baptized, three of them by former wives. In less than five 
years his third wife died, also. It was a great loss. Among 
Inilians there are no boarding houses, and a wife can be ob- 
tained only by purchase at a large price, or by stealing, and 
where polygamy is common, as it was then — many of the men 
having two, some three, and some four wives — the number to 
choose among is not great. There was no Christian woman 
for him to seek. He chose an orphan girl who had been raised 
by her grandmother, one of the first converts, and eminently 
pious, probably hoping she would in this be like her grand- 
mother. The friends of '' Phettt Rainbow," for that was her 
name, were much pleased at her getting so good and respecta- 



MBMOm OF NAPBH8HKBBDOOTA. 189 

ble a man for her husband ; but after the price was paid^ she 
would not live with him ; probably owing to the disparity o1 
their ages. As her cousins talked of forcing her, she ran oft 
among strangers again and again« He tried repeatedly to win 
her affections, but in vain. At one time, hearing of her at a 
distance of more than one hundred miles from her friends, he 
sought and found her, barefoot and in a very suffering condi- 
tion, having sold her best clothes for food. According to t\e 
customs of his people he would have been Justified in drawing 
his butcher knife and cutting off her hair, or even her ears or 
nose. 

But he had learned to return good for evil, took her to the 
tent of some of his friends, and kindly provided her with food 
and clothing, such as she needed. Still she would not live 
with him. Not long after this, ho had an opportunity of get- 
ting a woman much nearer his own age, a Christian, who had 
been cast off by her former husband because he had taken a 
younger wife who threatened to kill her predecessor. With this 
woman he lived happily till her death, which occurred about 
two years before his own. Not long after taking this last 
wife, he took his family to reside at LrrrLB Crow's village, a 
few miles below Fort Snelliug, on the Mississippi, where many 
of his kindred lived. In this region game was more abundant 
and goods much cheaper than at Lac qui Parle. He was taken 
down with a fever soon after he arrived nmong them. Some 
of his relatives, principal men of the village, called to see him. 
They inquired of him if it was true, as they heard, that he had 
abandoned the religion and customs of their fathers, and em- 
braced the religion of the white men ? He replied that it was. 
They then told him if he would return to their customs and 
worship as they did, they would attend to him in his sickness 
as they did to each other, and furnish him with food and medi- 
cine. If he would not do this, he must look to his new fViends 
for help, for the}' could do nothing for him. Knowing that for 
the cure of disease they relied chiefly on the aid of the spirits 
they worshipped, and that God forbids such worship, he told 
them he would be pleased if they would furnish his family 
with food till he got well, but he did not believe in any of their 
gods, nor wish any of their incantations about him. If it was 



190 lONXBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIOKS. 

the will of the great God he worshipped that he should recover, 
He woald restore him to health, if not he was willing to die. 
Hearing this they left him to get along as he could. He and 
his family suffered much for food and the fevier continued for 
weeks. One day one of his acquaintances, a man he had not 
seen for a long time, brought them some food, and asked if 
there was anything more he could do for him. He requested 
him to go to Fort Snelling tell the surgeon there how he was, 
and ask for medicine for him. The medicine was obtained, 
broke the fever, and he soon got well. 

A year or two after this, having obtained a horse, he bought 
a harness, made a small sled and hauled his fire wood, instead 
of having his wife carry it, as was the custom. When the 
sleighing became good, he took his wife and youngest child on 
the sled and gave them a ride to Fort Snelling, where Major 
R. G. MuRPHT, the agent, commended him for his industry 
and ingenuity. His comrades viewed the matter differently ; 
said his wife was no better than theirs ; such innovations must 
not be allowed, and killed his dog. He nevertheless persevered 
in drawing his wood. Soon afber they killed his horse. Being 
unable to buy another, his harness and sled were useless. Ma- 
jor MuRPHT would have been pleased to remunerate him for 
his losses, by taking the money from the annuities of those 
who had injured him, bat the laws of our country do not allow 
such interferenc e. with Indian customs. 

In the year 1850, the Dakotas on the Mississippi sold their 
hunting grounds, and within three years were forced to move 
more than one hundred miles to a reservation on the Minnesota 
river, where it was impo ssible for them to live by hunting, as 
they had done. The Dakotas were accustomed to say (and 
many of them believed it) that Indians were made for hunters 
and warriors, and if they should become farmers or mechanics, 
and labor like civilized men, the gods they worshipped would 
be offen<1ed, and destroy them. Joseph Napeshneb, not believ^ 
ing in these gods, immediately began to build and plant, and 
was the leading farmer among the Medwakantonwan, as was 
SiHOK Anawanqmanee among the Wahpehtonwan and Sisiton- 
wan. Others, seeing that they did not die as had been 
predicted, in consequence of thus violating the customs of 



ICBMOUt OF NAPEH8HMBBDOOTA. 191 

their ancestors, were induced to follow their example, which 
was worth thousands of dollars to their people. Nor were 
their own people alone benefited by them. 

In the war of 1862,' the Christian Indians, instead of joining 
in the massacre, befriended the whites, and were instrumental 
in saving the lives of hundreds of our people and a vast amount 
of property. The Christian Dakotas are now ten times as 
numerous as they were then, and more than two thousand now 
live by cultivating the soil, and in consequence more than one 
hundred thousand dollars is saved annually to our government. 
There is now more than that difference between the amount 
appropriated for their suppoit, and that of a like number of 
Dakotas to whom the gospel has not been preached. 

Further, regiments of soldiers are kept among the heathen 
Dakotas, or Sioux, to restrain them from robbing and murder- 
ing emigrants, while the Christian Dakotas, like a shield, defend 
the whites who are near them from the wild and hostile Indians 
farther west. 

In the spring of 1863, Joskph Nape-shkbb was engaged as a 
scout by our government, and for several years was very useful 
as such, giving entire satisfaction to the oflScers having chai*ge 
of him. After his services were no longer needed in this 
capacity, he returned to Lac qui Parle. The infirmities of age 
were now coming on him, and having no team he was not able 
as formerly to build a house for his family, but lived in a tent, 
yet supported them, partly by cultivating the earth, partly by 
hunting and fishing, without receiving any aid from the gov- 
ernment, much respected by his neighbors, white as well as 
red, no one doubting his piety. For nearly ten years he was 
a useful ruling elder in the Presbyterian church. 

St. Peter, April, 1871. 



MEMOIR OF HERCDLES L. DOUSMAN. 

BT GEN. H. H. SIBLET. 

U£RCUi.K8 L. DousHAN departed this life at Prairie da Chien, 
in the State of Wisconsin, on the 12th day of September, 1868. 
The anoancement of ti\e event, the intelligence which was 
soon spread far and wide, that death had suddenly stricken a 
man so long and so favorably known throughout the north- 
west, was productive of more sad emotions in the entire State 
of which he was an honored citizen, than are usually mani- 
fested in a sinfi;le community, when it is made known that one 
of its most prominent members has been unexpectedly called 
away. Indeed so identified with the territorial and State his- 
tory of Wisconsin and Minnesota had my lamented fViend 
become, that his name was a familiar word in almost every 
household, as that of a kind-hearted, high minded man, and 
public spirited citizen. 

Col. DousMAM was born in the island of Michilimackinac, or 
Mackinac, as it is now called, in the year 1800. He was the 
son of Michael and Catherine Dousman, long and highly 
esteemed residents of the island, the soil of which now covers 
their remains. He was sent to £lizabethtown. New Jersey, 
for high school education, where he remained until he had at- 
tained the age of eighteen, when he removed to New York, 
aid engaged himself as clerk to a Mr. Robinson, a dry goods 
merchant in that city. His seiTices in that capacity continued 
for two years, and he then returned to the home of his parents 
at Mackinac. He was soon thereafter employed as clerk by 
the American Fur Company under the management of John 
Jacob Astor, Mackinac being the principal western depot of 
that association. In 1826 he was despatched to Prairie du 
Chien as the confidential agent of the company, to take charge 



MSKOIR OF H. L. DOC8MAM. 193 

of the basiness at that important entrepot of the Air trade. 
Here the great natural abilities of Col. Dousuan, combined 
with the thorough commercial education he had received, dis- 
played themselves in the broad and almost limitless sphere to 
which he had been assigned. The late Josbph Rolettb, Senior, 
was his ostensible superior, inasmuch as he held the position 
of partner with the American Fur Company, but in reality the 
commanding talents of Col. Dousman soon placed him in 
actual control of the business of the company in this region. 
In fact the entire country north and west of Prairie du Chien, 
to the British boundary, (except the Mississippi valley above 
the Falls of St. Anthony, and the Upper St. Croix and its 
branches,) with its numerous trading stations and fur traders 
and other employes, was tributary to that post, until the year 
1834, when a new and different organization was effected. 

It required a man of sound and cultivated judgment, and of 
great executive ability, to systematize operations in so exten- 
sive a district, embracing many thousands of Indian hunters 
belonging to distinct and separate tribes, wild and savage in 
disposition, and even more addicted to inter-tribal war thivn to 
the chase. Among these discordant and belligerent bands, were 
stationed at intervals more or less regular, the fur traders and 
voyageurs of the great company, entrusted with merchandise 
amounting in the aggregate to hundreds of thousands of dol- 
lars annually. None but those familiar with the ramifications 
and intricacies of the trade with Indians in early days, can 
rightly estimate the business tact and energy requisite to bring 
order out of confusion, and to reduce to a proper working 
system the operations of traffic in so wide a field. No 
higher tribute can be paid to the surpassing abilities of Col. 
Dousman as a business man than the bare mention of the fact 
that he was successful in his efforts to effect an organization 
almost perfect in all its parts. 

My personal acquaintance with the subject of this memoir 
dates back to the year 1829, more than forty years ago. I was 
then a mere boy, employed as a clerk by the American Fur 
Company at their central agency at Mackinac. Col. Dousman 
and others in charge of important districts, were required 
to report in person during the summer of each year at that 



194 MINNS80TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

point, whither they went in charge of the Mackinac boats that 
contained the furs and skins collected daring the previous 
year. 1 became quite iutimatQ with him, although he was by. 
many years my senior, and at each of his annual visits he 
depicted the beauties of this wild western land in such glowing 
colors, and the abundance and variety of game animals and 
birds it contained, that my yonthfiil imagination was^captivated 
and my love of adventure aroused, so that in 1884, at his ear- 
nest solicitation, I formed with him and the late Joseph 
Rolette, Senior, a co-partnership with the American Fur 
Company of New York, which passed in that year under the 
direction of Ramsat Crooks as President. By the terms of the 
agreement, Messrs. Rolette and Dousuan were to continue in 
charge of the station at Prairie du Chien, and conduct the 
trade with whites and Indians in the region more immediately 
contiguous to and tributary to that post, while I was to be 
placed in control of all the country above Lake Pepin, to the 
head waters of the streams emptying into the Missouri and 
north to the British line, with my headquarters at St. Peters, 
now the village of Mendota. Col. Dousuan was, therefore, 
under Providence, chiefly instrumental in linking my destinies 
with those of Minnesota. I am thankful for the recollection 
that from our first acquaintance to the day of his death, our 
warm friendship was mutual and undiminished, and that the 
harmony existing between us was never, in a single instance, 
disturbed by any serious controversy. 

Our State has sprung Into existence so recently that a few 
of us yet living have participated in or witnessed each step of 
her progress from pre-territorial times, when a few hundreds 
of men employed in the fur trade were all the whites to be 
found in the country, to the present period when Minnesota 
possesses a population nearly equal to one-sixth of that com- 
posing the entire American confederation when it was finally 
emancipated from foreign control. Less than a generation 
since, what is now called Minnesota, together with a large 
part of co-terminous territory, was of importance only as a 
region producing in abundance wild animals valuable for their 
fiirs and skins. The bear, the deer, the fisher, the martin, and 
the raccoon, were the tenants of the woods ; the beaver, the 



MEMOIR OF H. L. DOU8MAN. 195 

otter, and other amphibia, such as the mink and the muskrat, 
were to be found in ttie streams and lakes, while the prairies 
were dotted with countless herds of the bison and the elk, 
accompanied by their usual attendants, wolves and foxes, 
which scarcely deigned to seek concealment from the eye of 
the traveler. The numerous lakes and marshes were the breed- 
ing places of myriads of wild fowl, including swan, geese and 
ducks. Many of the younger men who sought employment 
with the Air companies were, like myself, more attracted to 
this wild region by a love of adventure and of the chase, than 
by any prospect of pecuniary gain. There was always enough 
of danger, also, to give zest to extreme frontier life, and to 
counteract any tendency to ennui. There were the perils of 
prairie fires and of fiood, fVom evil-disposed savages, ^d 
those inseparable from the hunt of ferocious wild beasts, such 
as the bear, the panther and the buffalo. War was the normal 
condition of the powerful bands of Dakotas and Chippewas, 
and the white man falling in with a war party of these bellig- 
erent tribes might deem himself fortunate if he could save his 
life by a sacrifice of whatever property he possessed. The 
traveler and the hunter in their peregrinations were compelled 
to trust to their skill in constructing rafts or in swimming, for 
crossing the numerous streams, and to the compass, or to the 
sun and stars, to direct their course. Nature in her primitive 
luxuriance, unmarred by the labor of man, unveiled her beau- 
ties on every side, as a reward to those of her iniVequent 
visitors who could appreciate and enjoy them. 

Such was the entertainment to which I had been invited by 
my friend Dousman, and of which he himself had, for several 
years, been a participant. His robust physique and his bold 
and manly character were peculiarly adapted to a life of hard- 
ship and exposure, and previous to my arrival as his co-partner 
in business, a due regard to the responsibilities of his position 
required him to traverse the country at stated intervals, to 
inspect the posts within his district. Some idea can be formed 
of the gTcat changes which have occurred since 1884, when I 
state that when I performed the journey in the autumn of that 
year from Prairie du Chien to St. Peters, now Mendota, a 

distance of nearly three hundred miles, there was but one 
26 



196 MINNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTI0M8. 

house between those points, and that was a log cabin occupied 
by a trader named BocQus, situated below Lake Pepin near the 
site of the present town of Wabasha. 

The traders and clerks, who under the direction of Col. 
DousMAN and myself, had charge of the interior trading posts, 
were men of firmness and integrity, chosen from among the 
many applicants, for the characteristics which particularly 
qualified them to deal with a wild and savage race, and to be 
the custodians of the large outfits of valuable merchandise to 
be exchanged for furs and peltries. Cases of dishonesty were 
so rare among them as to constitute special exceptions to the 
general rule, although opportunities were afforded in a region 
remote from any of the restraints of law, which would have 
been taken advantage of by any but men of high moral prin- 
ciple. Of the long roll of these worthies with whom I was 
brought into close business connection, not a corporal's guard 
remains. Most of them, with my lamented friend Docsmam, 
have been gathered to their fathers. It is a source of regret 
that correct and reliable sketches of these veritable pioneers of 
our State cannot be obtained to be deposited with the collec- 
tions of this Society. They would add a very important and 
romantic chapter to the history of Minnesota. 

A biography of Col. Dousman commencing with his advent 
to the Upper Mississippi, would not fall very far short of a 
history of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Although there was 
probably no office in the gift of the people of his State, to 
which he could not have successfully aspired, he made it a 
rule of his life to accept no public position, from which he de- 
parted on one occasion only, when he received the honorary 
appointment of aid-de-camp to the governor of Wisconsin, with 
the rank of colonel. Nevertheless, so widely and so favorably 
was he known, that his advice with reference to the manage, 
ment of Indian aSTairs in the northwest Was eagerly sought by 
high dignitaries of the general government, and if that advice 
had been always followed, many grave errors might have been 
avoided. 

Daring his connection with the American Fur Company of 
New York, and subsequently as partner with myself in the 
extensive firm of Pibrrb Chouteau and Company of St. Louis, 



MEMOIR OF H. L. D0U8MAM. 197 

to whom the interests of the former corporation in this region 
were transferred in 1843, Col. Dousman was brought into 
close relations with the Winnebagpes, Menominies, some of 
the lower bands of Sioux, and a portion of the Chippewas, 
and his influence, especially over the first named bands was 
almost without bounds. The Winnebagoes were regarded as 
among the most turbulent, and dangerous, of the northwestern 
savages, and nothing but the benign rule under which they 
were brought by my deceased friend, prevented outbreaks of 
violence which would necessarily have resulted in great de- 
struction of life and property among the white settlers. His 
tact, sagacity and consummate knowledge of Indian character, 
were displayed on many critical occasions, when a collision 
seemed inevitable, and the services he thus rendered in the 
cause of peace, were the subject of public recognition by gov- 
ernment officers, both civil and military. General Alkxandbb 
Macomb, formerly in chief command of the U. S. Army, held 
him in high estimation, as did General Brooke, who in after 
years commanded the Department of the Upper Mississippi 
with his headquarters at Prairie du Chien, and their policy in 
the management of the Indian tribes of the northwest was in 
accordance with that generally recommended by Col. Dousman. 

The attempts of the government to negotiate treaties with 
the Winnebagoes, were often frustrated by the jealous suspi- 
cions of their chiefs and head-men, and their great reluctance 
to sell their lands, and it was almost impossible to succeed in 
that direction, without first securing the consent and infiuencc 
of the individual who was the trusted friend and counsellor of 
these wild bands. They had unbounded faith in the honesty 
of Col. Dousman, and they looked to him for protection from 
the rapacity of unprincipled agents, and of the swarm of white 
cormorants who were ever on the alert to deprive the ignorant 
savage of the pittance to which they were entitled from the 
U. S. Government. 

Hon. Simon Cameron, then, and now, U. S. Senator from 
Pennsylvania, was a member of a commission many years 
since, to make payments under treaty stipulations, to the 
Winnebagoes and their mixed bloods, and having received 
material assistance from the subject of this memoir, he took 



198 MIMNESOTA HISTORICAL GOLLBOnONS. 

occasion to state subsequently on the floor of the Senate, that 
in all his long experience, '^a more truthful, energetic, fearless 
man he had never met than Hbbculbs DousuMf , and that his 
talent, if possible, exceeded his virtues." Seldom indeed, if 
ever, has it fallen to the lot of a man in private station to 
wield an influence so extensive, and at the same time so bene- 
flcent. The primitive people among whom he so long resided, 
were accustomed to depend upon him for advice and assistance 
when trouble overtook them. He acted as peacemaker in their 
disputes, often-times preventing litigation by his wise counsels, 
and he was withal ever ready to minister to the wants of the 
poor and the distressed, without distinction of race. 

Although not a politician in the ordinary acceptation of the 
term, Col. Dodsuan was in sentiment a conservative democrat, 
but he was independent enough to condemn whatever he 
deemed vicious or wrong in the acts of his own party, and 
with equal candor he never withheld his tribute of praise from 
political opponents when in his judgment the line of policy 
pursued by them was in accordance with the public welfare. 
So prominent was this trait in his character, and so convinced 
were the people at large of his unswerving integritj-, that if 
he had assented to the solicitations of his friends to become a 
candidate for high public position, he would unquestionably 
have received the votes of very many who differed from him in 
politics. 

When the war of the great rebellion burst upon the country, 
the personal influence, and the purse of Col. Dousman were 
cast into the scale in support of the Lincoln administration, 
and few private citizens accomplished more than himself in 
arousing the people of his section to the imminency of 'Jie 
peril, and in equipping regiments for the field. He frequently 
expressed to me his earnest conviction, that it was the duty 
of every man in the community to devote his means and his 
energies to maintain intact the integrity of the Federal Unions 

Col. DousMAN was a firm friend of our own Territory and 
State. Intimately acquainted as he was with the topography 
of the country, and its vast capacity for production, he advo- 
cated its claims to consideration, and predicted the brilliant 
f\iture of Minnesota with all the enthusiasm of an old settler. 



ICEMOIR OP H. L. DOU8MAN. 199 

Next to his own State, to which be was ever loyal, his afTec- 
tioDS were bestowed upon the younger sister of Wisconsin, and 
his memory merits a warm place in the hearts of the people of 
Minnesota for the anxiety he manifested, and the efforts he 
made, to advance their material interests. 

Northwestern Wisconsin has also good cause to cberish him 
in gratefhl remembrance. For many years an owner of steam- 
ers on the Upper Mississippi, he accomplished much in directing 
immigration and business to her ports, and but for his unre- 
mitting exertions, and the liberal outlay from his own resources 
in aid of the enterprise, the railway from Milwaukee to Prairie 
du Chien, that great thoroughfare of travel and transportation, 
would long have remained unconstructed. 

The strict business habits of the deceased, and the many 
opportunities afforded in a new and rapidly growing r^ion for 
judicious investments, enabled him to amass an ample fortune. 
While he was always liberal in his contributions to religious 
and charitable objects, and noted for his hospitality, Ck>l. 
DousuAN was by no means given to extravagance, nor did he 
encourage it in those within the sphere of his influence. Many 
men are yet living who are indebted for their prosperity to the 
pecuniary aid and wise direction they received fVom him in 
time of need. 

In 1844, Col. DousMAN was united in marriage to the widow 
of his former partner in business, Joseph Rolbttb, Senior, who 
died some years previously. The issue of the union, which 
was a most happy one, was a son who bears the name and is 
possessed of many of the characteristics of his father. The 
estimable widow resides with her son, in a new and splendid 
residence erected upon the site of the old homestead at Prairie 
du Chien. 

I am well aware that I have very imperfectly discharged the 
duty devolved upon me by the Society, of preparing a suitable 
memoir of my cherished friend. I might have entered into 
much greater detail, but in so doing I would have been com- 
pelled to transcend the limits allotted ordinarily to an obituary 
of any man, however distinguished. On the other hand, I 
could not have said less, without doing violence to my own 
feelings. I cannot but recall to mind, with the keenest regret, 



200 mNNSSOTA HISTORICAL GOLLBGTION8. 

that the friend of my early and riper years — my associate in 
business for nearly a quarter of a century — who directed my 
steps for the first time to what is now Minnesota, and to whom 
I was fervently attached, has gone the way of all the earth. 
He was summoned away suddenly, when his bodily vigor seemed 
hardly to have been diminished, or his intellectual energies to 
have lost any portion of their force. He left behind him no 
enemies to exult over his departure, but very many warm 
friends and dear relatives to lament the death of one whose 
place can never be filled in their affections. All that was mor- 
tal of the imposing form and presence of the deceased, now 
lies mouldering in the cemetery he himself had donated to the 
Catholic church at Prairie du Chien, and the magnificent marble 
monument erected by loving hands to commemorate his virtues 
will have become dim and tarnished by time, long ere his noble 
example shall cease to exercise an influence upon the commu- 
nity and the State of which he was an honored member. 

'' Why weep ye, then, for him, who having run 

The boond of man*a appointed years, at lant, 

Llfe^a blessing all enjoyed, litems labors done, 
Serenely to his final rest has passed: 

While the soft memory of his vlrtnes yet 

Lingers, like twilight haes when the bright sun has set.'' 



MEMOIR OF JOSEPH R. BROWN. 



(Pmper read before the Mlnneeota BditorimI AssocUtlon, 18T1.] 

Maj. JoBBPH R. Bbowk, an ez-editor and publisher of Minne- 
sota, one of the most widely known public men of our State, 
and at his death, its oldest white settler, died in the city of 
^ew York, November 9th, 1870, while on a business visit to 
that place. 

Joseph Renshaw Brown was born January 5th, 1805, in 
Harford county, Maryland. His father, who was a man of 
much ability and energy, and was a local preacher in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, removed soon Better to Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania, and settled on a farm there. Joseph's mother 
died when he was an infant. When about fourteen years of 
age, his father apprenticed him to a printer in Lancaster, but 
being treated with great harshness and injustice by said person , 
he soon after ^' ran away ;" and the first intelligence his father 
received ftrom him was, that he had enlisted in the army and 
had marched with his company ^^out west." He came to what 
is now Minnesota, with the detachment of troops that built 
Fort Snelling in 1819, and remained a resident from that time 
until his death, a period of over fifty years. 

On leaving the army, somewhere about 1825, he resided at 
Mendota, Saint Croix and other points in the State, and en- 
gaged in the Indian trade, lumbering and other occupations. 
His energy, industry and ability soon made him a prominent 
character on the frontier, and no man in the Northwest was 
better known. He acquired a very perfect acquaintance with 
the Dakota tongue, and attained an influence among that 
nation (being allied to them by marriage), which continued 



202 HINNB80TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

unabated to his death. He held, at different times daring his 
life, a number of civil oflSces, which he filled with credit and 
ability. In 1838, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace by 
Governor Dodge, of Wisconsin, and for several years had his 
office at his trading post, at Grey Cload, about 12 miles below 
Saint Paul. He was elected a member of the Wisconsin 
Legislature from '^ Saint Croix county" in 1840, 1841 and 
1842, taking prominent part in those sessions. He was also a 
leading member of the famous '^ Stillwater Convc^ntion " of 
citizens held in August, 1848, to take steps to secure a Terri- 
torial organization for what is now Minnesota. He was the 
Secretary of the Territorial Councils of 1849 and 1851, and 
Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives in 1858, a member 
of the Council in 1854 and '55, and House in 1857, and Terri- 
torial Printer in 1853 and '54. He was also a member from 
Sibley county, in the Constitutional Convention (^'Democratic 
Wing'*) of 1857, and took a very prominent part in the for- 
mation of our present State Constitution. He was likewise 
one of the Commissioners named in that instrument to canvass 
the vote on its adoption, and of the State officers elected under 
it. He shaped much of the Legislation of our early, territorial 
days> and chiefly dictated the policy of his party, of whose 
conventions he was always a prominent member. 

Maj. Brown carried on, for a number of years, a very large 
and widely extended business as an Indian trttder and supply 
agent, and, at the time of his death, had a trading post at Big 
Stone Lake, on our extreme western frontier. He also figured 
somewhat as an inventor, and after many years of study and 
experiment, and heavy outlay of means, had about completed a 
steam road wagon, or ^'Traction Motor," which he felt confident 
would prove a success, when his death occurred. He suffered 
the reverses of fortune incident to life on the frontier, and 
during his career made and lost large amounts, leaving at bis 
death. I am informed, but a small estate. He always bore his 
losses with cheerful equanimity. He was a man of most re- 
markably unruffled and happy temper. In an acquaintance of 
fifteen years, 1 do not recollect to have ever seen the cheerful 
smile he always wore clouded by any reverses of fortune he 



MSMOIB OF J. R. BHOWN. 203 

may have met with. He was always genial, good-humored and 
sociable. 

But it is as a journalist and publisher I desire principally to 
speak of him here. His first regular entrance into the printing 
business in Minnesota, was in the year 1852, though he had 
before written considerable for the press. Shortly after the 
death of Jambs M. Goodhue, which occurred in August of that 
year, Major Browk purchased the ^' Minnesota Pioneer,'* and 
edited and published it under his own name for nearly two 
years. In the spring of 1854, he transferred the establishment 
to Col. £. S. Goodrich. During the period of his connection 
with the paper, he established a reputation as one of the most 
sagacious, successful and able political editors in the Territory, 
and as a sharp, interesting and sensible writer. 

In 1857, he established at Henderson, which town had been 
founded and laid out by him a short time before, a journal 
called the ^^ Henderson Democrat," which soon became a 
prominent political organ, and was continued with much ability 
and success until 1860 or '61. 

In speaking of Maj. Brown as an editor, I can do no better 
than to use the graceful and elegant tribute from one^ whose 
pen never touched a subject without adoniing it, and whose 
long acquaintaince with Maj. Brown ensures its faithfulness 
as a portrait : 

'* Joseph R. Rrown was a great man In many of the best senses 
of that term, and never a common man in any sense. Without edu- 
cation, according to Its scholarly significance, he yet knew much of 
all that scholars know, and more of that in which they are ignorant. 
* * * We have known him to dash off more than twenty sheets 
of foolscap in a single night, upon a great variety of topics, requiring, 
in some cases, the use of precise and technical language, and exhibit- 
ing a range and accuracy of information which, considering the life he 
led and that he was a man without letters, we regard as unsurpassed 
by any intellectual feat which we have known any others to perform. 

" The mind of Major BnowN was of the ruggedest Saxon type, and 
his language and mode of thought always simple, clear, logical and 
strong. His manuscript rarely required revision, and never ex- 
cept as to tautology or some such slight rhetorical foult. His method 
of statement and argument has not been excelled by any professional 

1 Col. E. 8. QOODRICH. 

27 



204 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

writer in the State. To his clearness and strength he added a most 
persuasive tone, and a hnmor that won the kindly feeling of those 
whose interests or principles he combatted. Withoat ftirther culture 
than such as experience gives, he must have acquired a wide and solid 
reputation, had his powers been regularly employed as a writer for the 
press." 

In the brief space allotted to me for this memoir, I have 
only glanced at some of the prominent traits of Maj. Brown's 
character, and the principal events of his life. He was, all in 
all, one of the most remarkable men which our northwestern 
frontier has developed, and it would require literally a volume 
to give the leading incidents of his long and eventful career. 
In the various and contradictory characters of soldier, pioneer, 
legislator, lumberman, public officer, editor, politician, trader, 
inventor and town-site speculator, he showed the versatility 
of his genius and energy of his character. He had faults, of 
course, but they were such as could be easily overlooked and 
forgiven by his friends. And as one of the pioneer editors 
and publishers of this State, his memory should always be 
respected by the members of the editorial fraternity of Min- 
nesota. J. F. W. 



[Prom the St. Paol Pioneer, November 15th, 1870.] 



(( 



Why, God bless you ! Come in !"— at St. Paul, in 1864, 
and " God bless you ! Good night !" at New York, in 1870, 
were the first salutation and last farewell received by the 
writer from Joseph R. Brown. And between these two have 
been blessings numberless, but no curses. His heart did not 
breed curses, nor would his lips utter them. And so, in the 
memory of these kindly greetings and farewells, which come 
back upon us now as benedictions, let us render some tribute 
to the great and good hearted man who has just passed away. 
For Joseph R. Brown was a great man in many of the best 
senses of that term, and never a common man in any sense. 
Without education, according to its scholarly significance, he 
yet knew much of all that scholars know, and more of that in 



MEMOIB OF J. B. BROWK. -205 

which they are ignorant. Without familiarity with the social 
refinements of life, his intercourse with men showed that native 
delicacy and kindness of heart are better than the best of 
breeding. Passing the bulk of his days among the rude and 
unlearned, or leading the more solitary life of trader or fron- 
tiersman, he was a man of mark and influence in any assem- 
blage where he might be placed, whether in an Indian council 
in the wilds of the West, or in a National Convention in the 
centre of civilization. Persuasive as a speaker, simple, homely, 
but strong as a writer, modest and winning in private inter- 
course, he needed only the polish of the schools to have graced 
any position, or have honored any profession or pursuit. This 
is not the language of eulogy. No man of intelligence could 
come in contact witl^ Major Bbown, without admitting his 
ability ; he was more than a common man who did not feel 
inferiority in his presence, and less than a generous man who 
did not acknowledge it. 

Major Brown's qualities are best known and appreciated by 
those who mingled in the early politics of Minnesota. With a 
mind well stored with the elementary principles of law ' and 
political science, with a familiar knowledge of persons and 
localities, and with a natural aptitude for affairs, he took prom- 
inent part in all public movements, and grew in influence with 
the expanding growth of the Territory and State. It was 
noticeable to witness the effect of his appearance at the capital 
to attend upon the sessions of the Legislature during these 
early periods in our politics. He had, perhaps, spent months 
on the frontier, or beyond the limits of civilization, but, by 
some process, he had kept even with the current of events, and 
needed little in the way of fact or hint to render him master 
of the situation. All the little-great and great-little men who 
thronged to the capital at such seasons, and called themselves 
politicians, were anxiously waiting his arrival, which, with a 
humor that had just a dash of malice in it, he would some- 
times dela> until the latest hour. But the whole alphabet of 
Honorables rested quiet when he came. He was Cushing's 
Manual, and Kent's Commentaries, and Political Economy, and 
8ir Oracle, without pretence ; he was the safely trusted friend, 
counsellor, committeeman, scribe, even, to all — except the 



206 HINNKSOTA HISTORICAL OOLLBCTIONS. 

Hon. PnErTENTious Sguiar. The Hon. Squirt would show his 
sagacity by patronizing **Jo." Brown. Before the session 
had half passed the Hon. Squirt was squelched. Not mali- 
ciously squelched, though, for if any Hon. Squirt proved to 
be only surfacely so, and gained sense enough to realize his 
true status, no one would aid more heartily than the Major in 
setting him on his feet again. But no Hon. Squirt ever for- 
got the ordeal through which he had passed, or repeated the 
patronizing experiment of ^^Jo.^ing Major Brown. 

The amount of work which Major Brown would perform 
during these legislative sessions, was something remarkable. 
Passing the legislative hours at the Capitol in watching and 
directing the details of legislation, his evenings and nights 
were consumed in the caucus, in the frivming of bills, the pre- 
paration of committee reports, the composition of a speech 
for some Noodles — whose support to an important measure 
would be gained by enabling him to play the part of an orator- 
ical puppet, — and in writing editorials or correspondence for 
the press. We have known him to dash off more than twenty 
pages of foolscap of a single night, upon a great variety of 
topics, requiring, in some cases, the use of precise and technical 
language, and exhibiting a range and accuracy of information 
which, consideriilg the life he led, and that he was a man with 
out letters, we regard as unsurpassed by any intellectual feat 
which we have known any other to perform. 

The mind of Major Brown was of the ruggedest Saxon type, 
and his language and mode of thought always simple, clear, 
logical and strong. His manuscript rarely required revision, 
and never except as to tautology or some such slight rhetorical 
fault. His method of statement and argument has not been 
excelled by any professional writer of our State. To his clear- 
ness and strength he added a most persuasive tone, and a humor 
that won the kindly feeling of those whose interests or princi- 
ples he combatted. Without farther culture than such as 
experience gives, he must have acquired a wide and solid 
reputation, had his powers been regularly employed as a writer 
for the press. 

M%j« Brown's knowledge of human nature was thorough and 
extensive. He knew men as a scholar knows books. This 



MBMOIB OF J. B. BBOWN. 207 

knowledge, with his knowledge of affairs, and the skill with 
which he used both in the business of politics and legislation, 
caused him to be designated the '' Juggler,'* in our early parti- 
san slang. No epithet was ever more undeserved. What the 
herd, who were his inferiors, denominated juggling, was only 
the exercise of his superior sagacity. He bribed no man, nor 
did he accomplish his ends by mean or unworthy tricks. But 
he was clear, strong, fertile and ingenious, and frequently 
carried schemes which were deemed impracticable, by consum- 
mate tact and unyielding tenacity — surprising his friends with 
unlooked-for success while he confounded his enemies. He 
delighted in the manipulation of men ; and sometimes, we have 
thought, humorously involved measures and members in the 
mazes of legislation, that he might enjoy their struggles to 
escape from the dilemma into which they were cast. This, 
however, was confined to immaterial matters ; he never jeop- 
arded a scheme of importance by inconsiderate or humorous 
trifling. 

So much interest did M^jor Bbown take in public affairs, 
and so much importance was attached to his presence and ad- 
vice upon public measures, that, from the organization of the 
T^itory until the State was fairly in working order, he was 
rarely or never absent from a general convention of his party, 
or from a legislative session. It is thus that nearly all the 
important legislation which forms the basis of our present code 
bears the impress of his mind. This is especially so in respect 
to those features which are novel to our system, and are stamped 
with liberality, progress and reform. It would surprise any 
one unfamiliar with the subject, to contrast the code of Minne- 
sota with that of any leading Eastern State, and observe the 
superiority of our system in every liberal, humanitarian aspect. 
The centres of population, wealth, refinement and culture, 
which are shackled by precedent and tradition, are not the 
sources of ameliorating laws ; these spring from the freer, 
fresher, more generous life of new communities. The mass of 
this liberal legislation, if it did not owe its paternity to Major 
Bbown, had always in him a hearty and efficient advocate ; and 
his labors therein entitle him to honorable memory. 



208 MINKESOTA HISTORICAL COLtECTIONS. 

^This rambling sketch, — not intended as an analysis of 



Major Brown's character, but merely as sapplementary to the 
detailed accounts of his life already published, — must be 
brought to a close. As his remains are about to be consigned 
to the earth of the State which he loved, and whose interests 
he faithfully served in public and in private station, the writer 
would lay this tribute on his grave, along with that which will 
spring from thousands of hearts throughout Minnesota, as they 
learn that he is gone from amongst us, forever. If our ven- 
erable and tried friend had faults beyond those which mar the 
characters of the best of us, we happily knew it not while he 
lived, nor would we know it now. If there were such, we are 
sure they must have sprung from the soil of an undisciplined 
youth, and that they did not form the controlling elements of a 
manhood and a manliness rich in intellectual strength and 
vigor, and richer in the rarer qualities which mark the posses* 
sor of a generous and unselfish heart. No history of Minnesota 
can be written which shall omit from its pages the scenes and 
incidents wherein, for half a century, he moved conspicuously ; 
nor can such history be worthily written which fails to record 
upon the roll of its worthiest pioneers, the name of Joseph R. 
Brown. E. S. G. 

November 14, 1870. 



[From the St. Paul ProBS, NoTember 12th, 1870.] 

A dispatch was received on the evening of the 9th inst. by 
Dr. C. Carli, of Stillwater, a brother-in-law of Joseph R. 
Brown, announcing the death of the latter on that day at New 
York. No particulars were given beyond the simple announce- 
ment of the fact. Mr. Brown went to New York some time 
ago for the purpose of superintending the construction of his 
traction engine or steam wagon — an invention of his own 
which he has been developing for years — and he was in unusual 
good health when he left the State on this errand. He could 
not have been much less than 70 years of age, and ever since 
his early boyhood has been a resident of Minnesota, where he 



MBMOIB OF J. B. BROWK. 209 

first made his appearance as a drammer-boy at Fort Snelling 
some forty odd years ago while that fort was in process of 
erection. £ver since he was discharged from the military 
service, which, if we recolleci aright was in or about the year 
1828, he has been conspicuously and actively identified with 
the history of Minnesota, from the earliest beginnings of 
settlement on the Upper Mississippi to the present time. He 
was an important and distinguished character among the first 
pioneers of settlement in this region, and has been a more or 
less important and distinguished character ever since. As 
early as 1881 Jo. Brown, as he was then, and has ever since, 
been familiarly called, had an Indian trading post at Land's 
End, on the Minnesota river, about a mile above Fort Snelling. 
In 1888-4 he had established his trading post at Oliver's Grove, 
at the mouth of the St. Croix. At that time the only inhabi- 
tants in the country outside the fort were Indians — except a 
few traders at Mendota and elsewhere. Brown was still en- 
gaged in the Indian trade when the speculative mania of 1887 
set in, and distant as this portion of what was then Wisconsin 
was ft'om its scenes, some pulsation of it reached these remote 
solitudes. Brown was about the only man among the Indian 
traders of that time with sagacity enough to distinguish, in 
the hubbub of this wild movement of speculation and emigra- 
tion, the march of that great westward development which was 
soon to take in the then remote wilderness of the Upper 
Mississippi. He at once set about, as soon as the Indian title 
was extinguished, to seize what seemed to him to be the salient 
points of the region hereabout. He first settled in 1888 at 
Gray Cloud Island, fifteen miles below St. Paul, where he had 
a trading post and farm. Two years afterward he formed the 
first settlement or laid out the first townsite at the head of 
Lake St. Croix, about a mile above the present site of Still- 
water, and which he called Dahkotah, and about the same time 
he, with James R. Clewbtt, bought the first claim made in St. 
Paul, from a discharged soldier. This claim embraced what is 
now Kittson's addition, and was bought for $150. At this time 
Brown, whose operations were extensive, owned an interest in 
a trading house on the Fort Snelling Reservation, on this side 



210 MnnrasoTA hivtorioal oollbctioms. 

of the Mississippi, which on Sept. 18th, 1888, was destroyed 
by a party of Sionx. 

He was not only the pioneer town bnilder of Minnesota, bat 
the pioneer lamberman, being the first to raft lomber down the 
St. Croix. In 1841 he was elected as representative of Craw- 
ford county, Wisconsin, which had been extended over the delta 
of coantry between the St. Croix and Mississippi. Here he 
succeeded in getting an act passed organizing St. Croix coonty , 
with his town — Dahkotah — as its county-seat. A judge of the 
district arrived one day at this county seat to hold court, but 
finding that it consisted of a single claim cabin, he seems to 
have resigned the judicial oflSce for this locality to Jo. Bbown, 
who already absorbed all the other functions of government in 
the county of St. Croix. Brown was at this time, as for some 
time afterwards, engaged in lumbering operations on the St. 
Croix, varied, if we remember rightly, by an interval of fur 
trading on Big Stone Lake. In 1847 he endeavored to obtain 
from the War Department permission to erect a warehouse, 
etc., at Fountain Cave, which was then within the limits of the 
Snelliug Reservation, for the purpose of supplying the lumber 
trade just being started on the Upper Mississippi, by the erec- 
tion of a saw mill at St. Anthony Falls. He was unsuccess- 
ful in this, but soon afterwards established a boom at the point 
indicated. 

After the Territory of Minnesota was organized, Mr. Browk 
at once took a leading and influential position in the politics 
of the Territory. He was elected Secretary of the First Legis- 
lative Council, which assembled in the fall of 1849 at St. Paul, 
of which David Olmsted was President. Mr. Brown was, if 
we recollect aright. Secretary of the Second Legislative Coun- 
cil also. His tact, ability aud shrewdness, were, we well 
recollect, the theme of general comment at the time. In 1853, 
Mr. Brown varied his pursuits by succeeding to the ownership 
and editorial charge of the Pioneer^ its former editor, Mr. 
James M. Goodhue, having deceased, and gave a new illustra- 
tion of the versatility of his character aAd talents, by his suc- 
cess as a sharp and vigorous writer. We think it was in 185S, 
he was elected a member of the Legislature, representing the 
county of Dakota. For years previous and subsequent, he 



MBMOIB OP J* B. BBOWN. 211 

lived in St. Paul, but at that time his family occupied a house 
on the bluff on the west side of the river. 

Previously to this Brown had laid out the town of Hender- 
son, on the Minnesota river, and much of the early legislative 
log-rolling for which he was famous at that time, had reference 
to the building up of this point, which he endeavored without 
much success to make a depot of supply for the Indian country 
and Fort Ridgely. The steady and sedentary routine of the 
editor did not long suit Buown's restless disposition and he 
was soon at Henderson again building and planning we forget 
what, but mills and warehouses and hotels were among his 
monuments. 

He was soon after this appointed Indian Agent for the Min- 
nesota Sioux, and plunged into his old Indian life again, if, 
indeed, he had ever deserted it. It may as well be said here 
that Brown, lilce many of the old Indian traders, had married 
a Sioux woman, by whom he had a numerous family, and it 
was perhaps this circumstance, as well as the associations 
of all his early and middle life, which attached him so strongly 
to the Indians. Fitted by his abilities and character for any 
position or any career in the new centres of civilization which 
had sprung up around him, we find him -at short intervals 
always going back to the Indians as agent or trader, or in some 
such capacity. He was, however, always planning new enter- 
prises — and this haunter of Indian camps, this half Bedouin, 
was the lounder of more embryo cities than any other half-a- 
dozen men in the State, and the planner of more schemes for 
its development than any other. He had a force, originality 
and genius of invention in him which was always propelling 
him in new paths. Among his inventions was his steam traction 
motor— or steam wagon. 

It was a favorite project of his to build a wagon — propelled 
by steam — which would travel at will over the dry hard roads 
of our prairies. We think it was in 1860 that he had one built 
in New York, but afber experimenting with it on the road be- 
tween Henderson and Fort Ridgely he was forced to abandon 
it for the time as a failure. In the meantime the Indian war 
broke out, in which Mr. Brown took an active part. Following 

the remnants of the friendly Sioux to Fort Wadsworth, he has 
28 



212 lONNBSOTA HI8TOBI0AL OOLLSCnOKS. 

been occapied for several years in trading with them, and in 
business connected with the supply of the different agencies. 
He has, in fact, been the real Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
in that region, and has been chief counsellor of the agents and 
the government. But he had not, in the meantime, lost sight 
of his favorite project of a steam traction motor ; but has been, 
meanwhile, maturing his invention and his plans for its suc- 
cessful operation. Last winter he secured legislation enabling 
the counties of the State which desired this kind of transporta- 
tion to provide a hard roadway for the purpose, by an issue 
of bonds to cover the necessary expenditure, and during the 
summer he has been in New York constructing his motor and 
wagon, which he is said to have so perfected that its pratica- 
bility is now generally admitted. It is a sad culmination of a 
life which seems one chequered waste of unfblfilled dreams, 
that in the very hour when he was to have enjoyed the fruition 
of a scheme to which he had devoted so many years of his life, 
he was suddenly cut off from the living. Joseph R. Bbown, 
though not free fVom guile, was in the main an honest man. 
He was at any rate a generous one. He was possessed of a 
cheerful and happy temper, a bon-Jtommie which nothing could 
ruffle. No taint of malice or spite or spleen, lurked in his 
robust, warm and healthy blood. If his mental powers had 
been disciplined to the routine of some profession or regular 
occupation, if he had not been dragged down by the slipshod 
half-vagabond associations and habits of his frontier life, from 
the high career for which he was formed, he would have been 
one of the foremost men of his day. 

A drummer-boy, soldier, Indian trader, lumberman, pioneer, 
speculator, founder of cities, legislator, politician, editor, in- 
ventor, his career — though it hardly commenced till half his life 
had been wasted in the obscure solitudes of this far Northwest- 
ern wilderness — has been a very remarkable and characteristic 
one, not so much for what he has achieved, as for the extraor- 
dinary versatility and capacity which he has displayed in every 
new situation. The above is a hasty sketch of the life of the 
leading pioneer of Minnesota, mainly from the recollection of 
one who, without any intimate relations with him, cherishes a 
kind remembrance of his real worth and sincerely mourns his 
death. J. A W. 



MEMOIR OF HON. CYRDS ALDRICE 



BY J. F. W. 

The Bobject of this memoir was born in Smithfield, Rhode 
Island, Jane 18th, 1808. His father's name was Dexter 
Aldrich. His mother was a Miss Whttb, a lineal descendant 
of PsREORiNB WHrrB, the first child bom after the landing of 
the Pilgrim Fathers. He received a limited common school 
education, and during his boyhood and youth worked on a farm 
near Smithfield. He afterwards, when a young man, adopted 
a sea-faring life in which he continued for several years, 
accumulating little besides a good stock of practical experi- 
ence in the affairs of business and life. 

In 1837 he concluded to try his fortune in the West, and at 
the age of twenty-nine emigrated to Illinois and settled at 
Alton. That great commonwealth, now the empire State of 
the West, and soon to be the third in the Union, was then 
suffering from a great financial depression, similar to the one 
which weighed with such crushing effect on our own State in 
'58 and '59. Business and commerce were almost at a stand- 
still, and no other occupation offering itself, Mr. Aldrich, too 
industrious and active to remain idle while any honest employ- 
ment was open, worked as a day laborer on the Illinois and 
Michigan Canal. But this was only temporary. The managers 
soon found that they could do better than to employ this active 
and smart young stranger in an inferior position, and he was 
soon promoted to the place of overseer, and not long after took 
a contract on the same work. In 1841 his contract terminated 
disastrously to himself and he again resumed life as a laborer. 
Meantime he had resided at Springfield and Joliet. 



214 MIMNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIOKS. 

In 1842, he removed to Galena, where he resided for several 
years. There he became a member of the firm of Galbraith, 
FoBTBR & Co., largely engaged in the stage business and mail 
contracts, that proved remunerative. He soon became well 
known in that region and was — as his personal traits of char- 
acter, open and genial address, and honorable dealings always 
made him — ^very popular with all classes. On May 26th, 1845, 
he was married to Miss Claba Heaton of Indiana, who was 
then temporarily residing at Galena, and who survives him 
with a son and daughter, his only living children. 

In 1845 he was elected a member of the Illinois Legislature, 
and serving with satisfaction to his district, was re-elected the 
following year. At the expiration of his second term, he was 
tendered a nomination to the Senate, but declined, as the com- 
pensation of legislators at that time was so small that he had 
hitherto served at a loss to himself which he was not able to 
bear. During his legislative career, in Illinois, I doubt not 
that he worked for the interests of the State with the same 
energy, untiring industry and desire to promote the general 
welfare, that he evinced while in Congress and in our own 
State Legislature. In speaking of his legislative career in 
Illinois to the writer of this sketch, a short time before his 
death, he remarked that he was proud to have been a member 
of the session which adopted the plan for settling the old 
bonded indebtedness of that State, which like our own in this 
State, had been a source of trouble and dispute for several 
years, and devised means to restore her financial credit and 
solvency. That Mr. Aldrich's plain, strong, common-sense 
and clear-headed views of business and public measures had 
their weight and infiuence in settling the knotty questions 
which arose while the measures were under consideration, no 
one who knew him, can doubt. This must have been the view 
of others. C. L. Wilson, editor of the Chicago Journal^ 
speaking of the prominent part borne by Mr. Aldrich in the 
settlement of the matter, said that *' every one of his constitu- 
ents should take him by the hand and say ^Well done, good 
and faithful servant.' " 

In 1847 he was elected by a large majority. Register of 
Deeds of Jo Davies county, which position he filled for two 



MEMOIR OF HON. 0TBU8 ALDBICH. 215 

years. In the spring of 1849, he was appointed by President 
Taylor Receiver of the U. S. Land Office at Dixon, Illinois, 
which office he continued to fill for four years, until the incom- 
ing of Pierce's administration in 1853. 

When he was appointed to this office, he removed to Dixon, 
where he resided until his emigration to Minnesota. In 1854 
he was elected Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Dixon, 
and a member of the Board of Commissioners of the county 
of Lee. 

In 1852 he received the Whig nomination for Congress in 
his district, and had for an opponent the well known ^' Long 
John" Wemtworth, of Chicago. Though the dititrict was 
almost hopelessly Democratic, Mr. Aldrioh worked with his 
well known zeal so untiringly that he well nigh turned the 
scale in his own favor, failing by only a few votes, having run 
1,570 ahead of his ticket. He used to say that he would have 
been elected if he could have commanded the liberal use of 
means employed by his opponent. 

In 1854 he visited Minnesota, then the objective point of a 
very heavy emigration, and being pleased with the country and 
its healthfulness, determined to move his home here, Minne- 
apolis, then a mere hamlet, being the locality chosen. In the 
spring of 1855, he moved thither and built a commodious brick 
dwelling, now owned by Geo. A. Brackbtt, Esq. 

In his new home he lost none of the popularity which always 
seemed to follow him, for indeed he had Host none of those 
qualities of mind and heart which always made him acquaint- 
ances easily and attached them to him so warmly. He seemed 
made for a party leader, and it was not long ere the Republi- 
can party, to which he was ever attached, put him forward as 
standard-bearer. In the spring of 1857, he was nominated 
as a member of the Constitutional Convention, and elected by 
a larger majority than any candidate on his ticket. The printed 
debates of the ^'Republican wing" of the convention show 
that he took a leading part during the session, and was con- 
spicuous in pressing wise and proper views. 

A few days after the conclusion of the convention, Mr. 
Aldrich was nominated by the Republican Senatorial Conven- 
tion, as one of the three Congressmen (the State was not then 



216 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

districted.) He at once entered on a vigorous canvass, bat 
his party was not successful in the contest. Mr. Aldrioh 
from his personal canvass, however, became widely known 
throughout Minnesota, adding largely to his popularity and 
creating hosts of warm, personal friends. The ensuing year, 
when the next election for Congressmen occurred, Mr. Aldrioh 
was again nominated b> his party. This time he was tri- 
umphantly elected, receiving a majority of over four thousand, 
1,3G2 of which was in his own eouoty, the largest majority 
ever given by that county. 

He took his seat soon after in Congress, and ably repre. 
sen ted his State and labored faithfully for its interests. Per- 
haps we have never had, and never will have, a more faithful 
representative in Congress than Cyrus Aldrich. He made no 
pretensions to brilliant ability, was no impressive orator, and 
in plainness of manner and personal appearance would not 
have been selected by a casual observer as one of the leading 
members ; yet scarcely a member on the floor had more influence 
than Mr. Aldrich. There was something winning and per. 
suasive in his manner. It bore the impress of truth and 
honesty. His style of speaking was plain, forcible, convincing, 
even though it may have lacked rhetorical ornament. Yet he 
seldom bored the House with speeches. His great success lay 
in work^ work, WORK! He perseveringly pressed his 
measures, in season and out of season, and by his personal 
influence — that influence which a square, honorable, earnest 
man always has — accomplished his ends. No matter entrusted 
to him by his constituents was ever neglected by him. The 
humblest man in his district never wrote him a letter, asking 
a favor or for some information, in vain. He was certain of 
receiving a prompt, courteous answer, and if his request could 
be granted, it was secured. Thus Mr. Aldrich 's time was 
very fully occupied. His correspondence was very large. His 
opponents used to sneer at him as the ^' letter writer.*' I now 
record the fact to his credit and honor. 

When his first term expired, (1860) Mr. Aldrich was nomi- 
nated without opposition, and elected by an overwhelming 
majority, 10,500, even larger than the vote Abraham Lincoln 
received on the same ticket. He returned to his seat in Con- 



MEMOIR OF HON. CTBUS ALDBICH. 217 

gress with a consciousness of duty well performed and well 
appreciated. 

Tills was a trying term. The rebellion assumed shape and 
finally calminated in war. Our First Regiment of immortal 
fame, was called into the field, and remained near Washington 
for several months. This laid on Mr. Aldbioh new duties and 
labors. He felt a peculiar interest in the regiment and its 
welfare. His warm, sympathetic, kindly nature found a field 
for its active exercise. He was with the regiment whenever 
his duties at Washington permitted. The poor, sick or wounded 
soldier found in him a sympathetic and active friend, always 
ready with the cheering word, or liberal purse to minister to 
his wants. He would patiently frank ^^soidiers' letters" by the 
hundred, or write letters for the invalids in the hospital, and 
in a hundred ways bestowed on them those gentle and tender 
benefactions that only a generous heart could have conceived 
and executed, but which were of priceless value to the poor, 
despondent, suffering soldier. He seemed never to tire in his 
devotion to the '^boys" of the First Regiment, and it is unde- 
niable that his devotion to them seriously injured his health 
and perhaps shortened his life, while it is equally true that his 
unceasing generosity impaired his fortune and produced em- 
barrassment that compelled him to sacrifice valuable property 
at home. But he has left ^^a monument more enduring than 
brass." His name, always mentioned with respect by every 
one in his own State, is now almost sacred in thousands of 
grateful hearts of the surviving members of the First Regiment, 
their relations, and indeed every patriotic citizen of our State. 

In 1862, he was urged to accept the nomination for Con- 
gressman again, but declined to do so by the advice of his 
friends, at whose solicitation he ran for U. S. Senator during the 
Legislature of 1863, but was not successful. This fact was 
more regretted by others than by himself, as during his public 
life his private affairs had become much involved, and needed 
his personal care and attention, while his health had also 
suffered to some extent from over-exertion, and he was very 
glad to retire from public service to restore both. He did, 
however, accept from President Likooln, who had been for 
many years a warm personal friend of his, an appointment as 



218 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

one of the Commissioners to examine claims for Indemnity to 
sufferers by the Sioux raid. This was a difficult and embar- 
rassing position to hold ; but he executed the trust without 
detriment to the rights of either party. 

Mr. Aldrich was one of the. corporators of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad, an enterprise in which he felt much interest, 
and labored vigorously to get it started. 

In 1864, he yielded to the solicitations of his friends, and 
was elected to the House of Representatives of the Minnesota 
Legislature of 1865. He here served his constituents and the 
State with his old energy and fidelity. In the spring of 1865 
he was elected Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the 
town, the last position to which he was elected by popular vote. 

In 1867, without any solicitations on his part, and unex- 
pectedly to him, he was appointed Postmaster of Minneapolis, 
an office which he filled with satisfaction to all until the 
spring of 1871, a term of four years, when his successor was 
appointed. 

During his residence in Minneapolis, no man worked harder 
for its advancement than he. He was ever ready to give labor 
or means in any public enterprise, and whenever a subscrip- 
tion paper was circulated for any worthy object, the name of 
Cyrus Aldrich was sure to be found on it for a liberal amount. 
His community could have lost no one more true to her 
interests, nor whom they could have more illy spared. 

After retiring from the office of postmaster, he withdrew as 
far as possible ft-om all active business. His health was gradu- 
ally failing, and the evening of a well spent life was passed in 
his family, quietly and serenely. He calmly awaited the 
approach of his end, which he felt was near at hand, but he 
was 

'*— SuBtained and soothed 
By an anflilterlng trosb— " 

in the mercy and goodness of his Heavenly Father. Kind 
fiends and loving relatives ministered to his wants and 
smoothed his pathway to the tomb. Religion came to him 
with its soothing consolations. He believed and was baptised 
in the faith. His mind was remarkably clear, and he even gave 
directions for his ftineral and selected his own pall bearers. 



MEMOIR OF HON. CTBU8 ALPBICH. 219 

On the 5th of October, 1871, his eyes closed forever on this 
world. 

His death created general sorrow in the community vhere he 
was so well known and so mnch beloved. Perhaps the death 
of no other citizen could have been so sincerely lamented. He 
had not an enemy among the many thousands who knew him. 
His remains were interred in Lakewood Cemetery on Sunday, 
October the 8th. This funeral was one of the largest that has 
ever occurred in the State. It seemed as if nearly the entire 
community were in attendance. The Masonic Order, the Fire 
Department, tind other civic bodies were in the procession, 
while an immense concourse followed on foot and in carriages. 
The fhneral services took place at the Universalist church, 
where Rev. Dr. Tuttlb, the pastor, preached a touching ser- 
mon. It so strikingly sketches Col. Aldbioh's character, that 
I can do no better than close this hasty and imperfect sketch 
by quoting part of it : 

^' Col. Aldrich was, during most of his years, a public man. 
From the time he emigrated from Rhode Island to the State of 
Illinois, over thirty years ago, up to near the time of his death, 
there were not half a dozen years in which he was not doing 
service for the public. He was therefore brought in contact 
with a large number of our most distinguished men and became 
thoroughly conversant with nearly all the measures and inter- 
ests which agitated courts, legislatures and the United States 
Congress. His opportunities for doing good, then, for serving 
the institutions for which he cherished always a patriotic pride, 
were exceedingly great. He used these opportunities with 
conspicuous fidelity. If he was ever charged with appropriat- 
ing moneys that were not his, of subverting his office in any 
scheme of corruption, that charge never reached my ears. I 
have never known a public man, a man who like him had 
stemmed long and often the current of party opposition, whom 
the common speech of community treated more kindly, whose 
reputation for fair and honorable dealing, for resisting bribery, 
for keeping square accounts, was better protected from severe 
criticism. 

^^ The deeds which longer than all others, perhaps, will keep 

his memory fresh in the hearts of his surviving fellow citizens, 
29 



226 



mNNBSOTA HI8TOB1CAL COLLECTIONS. 



And which will embalm his name in loving gratitude among the 
people of this State, are those which he performed in aid of 
our soldiers during the late rebellion. Many, very many, are 
the touching incidents which might be related of his true, 
earnest, patriotic devotion during those perilous times — of the 
way he emptied his pockets to aid the cause. But why should 
I dwell upon these things, and before you who saw his unsel- 
fishness, who were daily witnesses of his patriotic sacrifices, 
who know better than I, how all the soldiers loved and honored 
him, how gratefully they mentioned his name and treasured in 
their heart of hearts his friendly counsels and deeds of sym- 
pathy. 

'^ He was unusually tender hearted, sympathetic and gen- 
erous. He was quick to perceive the wants of his fellow men, 
and ever ready and willing to render all the aid in his power. 
He was especially kind to the poor. Perhaps there was no 
one in our city, of his means and of his cares, who listened 
more attentively to tales of poverty and suffering, and made 
greater sacrifices to afford the relief that was asked. It was a 
pleasure for him to do his neighbors a kindness — indeed, his 
every day life was filled with kindness, with kind words and 
with all those genial manners and easy courtesies which mark 
a noble and generous mind. 

^^ For fifteen years his form has been a familiar sight in Min- 
neapolis, and his name was associated with most of your city 
interests. This great gathering, to*day, of his friends and 
neighbors and acquaintances, is a better attestation of the very 
high esteem in which he was held in this community than any 
words of mine can be. 

**The deceased was thoroughly aware several weeks ago 
that his life was drawing to a close. He sent for me, and in a 
very deliberate manner affirmed his convictions concerning the 
approaching dissolution, and told me quite minutely of his 
wishes in regard to the funeral, &c. Subsequently he sent for 
me again, and requested me to pray with him and to administer 
to him the rights of baptism and the communion. He seemed 
to be profoundly impressed and comforted by these solemn 
services. I saw him at other times, and at his request offered 
prayer. He expressed a desire to live — to have a few yeara 



MBMOIR OF HON. CTRU8 ALDRICH. 221 

more to enjoy with his family, and to complete some objects 
he had in view, if such a thing could be ; but he did not com- 
plain or rebel against the decree of Providence. He conversed 
often and ft*eely and calmly, even cheerfully and hopefully, 
with his family in regard to his departure, and made every 
necessary arrangement. His mind was clear and sound to the 
last. He suffered much, but murmured very little. His dis- 
tress Increased so much, finally, and his weariness was so great 
that he longed to go and be at rest. The closing moments 
were short and without much apparent pain. He fell asleep 
easily and peacefully." 



MEMOIR OF REV. LUCIAN GALTIER: 



THE FIRST CATHOLIC -PRIEST OF SAINT PAUL, 

BT REV. JOHN IRELAND. 

The name of Rev. Lucian Galtisr is inseparably interwoven 
with the early history of St. Paul. If any one man can be 
said to have been the founder of this city, in the beginnings 
of which there were many more, or less concerned, the honor of 
the title is to be awarded to him. It was his little mission- 
ary chapel that gronped together the early settlers who were 
pitching their tents aloDg the eastern bank of the Mississippi, 
and thus became the nucleus of the fhture city. The name he 
bestowed on the chapel was adopted by the new settlement, 
and retained by it as it grew up and developed into the St. 
Paul of to-day. 

It is proper that the Minnesota Historfcal Society, whose 
object it is to collect and preserve whatever items of our history 
might hereafter prove of interest, should be possessed of the 
principal circumstances of the life of this venerable clergyman, 
more especially of those connected with the origin and growth 
of our city. The task is easy. The circumstances in the life 
of Father Oaltieb, that could at any time have been of what 
we might call public interest, are few in number. His was the 
career of a humble, devoted priest of the Catholic church, 
noiselessly but faithfully fiilfilling the every -day duties of his 
office — preaching, administering the sacraments, providing for 
the instruction of youth, visiting the sick. To rehearse his 
life in detail, would be to describe facts which, occurring as 



XXMOIB OP RBV. LtJOIAH eALTOHU 228 

they do in the life of almost every priest, are of a nature too 
well known to be deserving of a special mention. Suffice to 
say that, of those ordinary, humble duties, Father Galtibb 
ever acquitted himself conscientiously and untiringly. The 
testimony of all who knew him is, that he was a good citizen, 
a good Christian, and a good priest. His labors, undertaken 
on his part with zeal and energy, have been of great profit to 
those who, at different periods, were committed to his pastoral 
care, and now that he has been taken ft*om us by his Divine 
Master, ^^ His memory is in benediction." 

LuciAN Galtier, the subject of the present notice, was born 
in France, Department of Ardeches, A. D. 1811. From an 
early age, he looked forward to the priesthood as his vocation, 
and was a student of theology in the seminary of his native 
diocese, when Bishop Lobas, the then newly appointed prelate 
of Dubuque, arrived in Europe, in quest of laborers for the 
immense region confided to his spiritual charge. The mission- 
aries whom the bishop persuaded to follow him to thcwilds of 
Western America, were Rev. Jos. Crbtin, afterwards first 
bishop of St. Paul, Rev. Jos. Fbllamourouxs, now vicar-gen- 
eral pf Dubuque, Rev. A. Ravouz, now vicar-general of St. 
Paul, Rev. Messrs. Caussb and Pktiot, who have since returned 
to France,' and Rev. L. Galtisb. The party landed in New 
York in the fall of 1888. Messrs. Galtibr, Ravoux, Caussb 
and Pbtiot, who had not yet completed their studies, pro- 
ceeded to Emmitsburg College, Md., where they remained 
about a year. They were ordained in Dubuque, Jan. 5th, 1840, 
being the first Catholic priests ever ordained on the north- 
western side of the Mississippi River. 

The Diocese of Dubuque comprised what was then the Ter- 
ritory of Iowa, the present State of Iowa, and as much of 
Minnesota as lies to the west of the Mississippi. The east 
side, though under the direct jurisdiction of the Bishop of Mil- 
waukee, was, however, generally attended to by Dubuque 
priests, who, geographically, were in closer proximity than 
those of other dioceses. Apart firom the voyages of the Jesuit 
Fathers, 200 and 150 years ago, the commencement of Catho- 
licity in Minnesota dates ftrom the year 1889. No doubt there 
had been, previously, Catholics in Minnesota, among the sol- 



234 KlNVBSOTAr 'HI9TORI0AL OOLLBCnOHS. 

diers of the Fort and the traders ; but up to that yelur they had 
had no charch organization, no attendance from a clerg}'man. 
In the sammer of 1839, Bishop Lobas arrived at Fort Snel- 
ling, in company mth Father Pbllamourgubs, to see what 
could be done, if anything, for Catholicity in that portion of 
his Diocese. They remained some time, partly at the Fort, 
partly at the St. Peter's trading post, (Mendota), and before 
leaving promised the soldiers and the employees of the Ameri- 
can Fur Company, who professed the Catholic religion, that 
they soon would have a priest permanently located among 
them. Those were not days of frequent steamboat trips ; so 
the Bishop was obliged, when returning to Dubuque, to con- 
fide himself to a little Indian canoe. The first night after 
leaving the Fort, he rested on the river bank beneath Day- 
ton's Bluff, and often afterwards he spoke of the sore blisters, 
which the unusual labor of rowing inflicted on his hands. 

One day in the spring of 1840, Bishop Loras heard the 
whistle of the first boat from St. Louis, nearing the wharf of 
Dubuque. He was told it was bound to Fort Snelling. He 
remembered his promise to send there a priest ; he called on 
Father Galtier, who, since the time of his ordination, ha4 re- 
sided at the cathedral. In an hour the latter was ready and 
on board the boat. We cannot relate better the facts that 
followed, than by copying a letter, which Father Galtibr him- 
self wrote, some three years ago, to Bishop Grace, of St. Paul, 
who had requested of him an account of his mission in Minne- 
nesota : 

^^ Praibi£-du-Cbibn, January 14, 1864. 

^^ Rt. Rev. Bishop : — ^Your favor of the 4th inst., I received 
this week. To comply with your wishes, I will try to give 
you, in a few lines, an imperfect sketch of my short stay, in 
what was then mostly Indian ground, and now is the most con- 
spicuous and most promising part of your fiourishing Diocese. 

'' On the 26th day of April, 1840, in the afternoon, a St. 
Louis steamboat, the first of the season, arrived at Dubuque, 
bound for St. Peter (Mendota) and Ft. Snelling. Rt. Rev. Dr. 
LoRAS immediately came to me, and told me he desired to send 
me towards the upper waters of the Mississippi. There 
was no St* Pau) at the time ; there was, on the site of the 



KBICOIR OF BBV. LUCIAN GALTIEB. 225 

present city, but a single log-hoase, occapied by a man named 
Phblan, and steamboats never stopped there. 

^< The boat landed at the foot of Fort Snelling, then gar- 
risoned by a few companies of Regular soldiers under command 
of Major Pltmpton. The sight of the Fort, commanding from 
the elevated promontory the two rivers, the Mississippi and 
the St. Peter, (Minnesota,) pleased me; but the discovery, 
which I soon made, that there were only a few houses on the 
St. Peter side, and but two on the side of the Fort, surrounded 
by a complete wilderness, and without any signs of fields under 
tillage, gave me to understand that my mission and life must 
henceforth be a career of privation, hard trials and suffering, 
and required of me patience, labor and resignation. I had 
before me a large territory under my charge, but few souls to 
watch over. I introduced myself to Mr. Campbpxl, a Scotch gen- 
tleman, the Indian Interpreter, to whom I was recommended by 
the bishop. At his house I received a kind welcome from his 
good wife, a charitable catholic woman. For about a month 
I remained there as one of the family. But, although well 
treated by all the members of the house, I did not, while thus 
living, feel sufficiently free to discharge my pastoral duties ; so 
I obtained a separate room for my own use, and made of it a 
kitchen, a parlor and a chapel. Out of some boards I formed 
a little altar, which was opened out in time of service, and 
during the balance of the day folded up and concealed by 
drapery. 

'^ In that precarious and somewhat difficult condition, I con- 
tinued for over a year. On the Fort Snelling side, I had un- 
der my care, besides some soldiers, six families, Bbsohe, 
Papin, Quinn, Campbell, Bruce and Resicko, and on the St. 
Peter side, besides some unmarried men in the employ of the 
company, five families, Fajubault, Mabtin, Lord, and two 
TuRPiNS. No event worth noticing occurred, except some 
threatening alarms given by the Chippewas to the Dakotas. 
During that year, too, in the month of August, I returned sick 
from a visit I had made to a few families settled in the vicinity 
of Lake St. Croix. Prostrated by bilious fever and ague, at 
the military hospital, for nearly two months, I could not have 
r^overed, were it not for the skill of Dr. Turner, and the con- 



226 MINmCBOTA HISTORICAL COLLECnOK8« 

tinned and kind attentions of his good lady. My gratefhl 
heart will never forget the relief I experienced at their hands. 
Both the officers and soldiers also showed me great respect and 
affection, and twice, some time after, although they had their 
chaplain, I had occasion to preach and offer the Holy Sacrifice 
in the Fort. What most grieved me, while sick, was the 
thought that no fellow priest was nearer than three hundred 
miles to me ; but most unexpectedly, God, in his mercy, sent 
me one, whose visit seemed to me as that of an angel. Rt. 
Rev. Dr. Ds Forbin Janson, ex-Bishop of Nancy, France, was 
then visiting the Northwest ; he arrived at the Fort, and hear- 
ing that I was sick, alighted immediately from the boat, re- 
ceived my confession, and spoke to me words of consolation 
and comfort. This was in August, 1840. 

^^ A circumstance, rather sad in itself, commenced to better 
my situation, by procuring for me a new station and a variety 
in my scenes of labor. Some families, most of whom had left 
the Red River settlement, British America, on account of the 
flood and the loss of their crops, in the^ years 1837 and 1838, 
had located themselves all along the right bank of the Missis- 
sippi, opposite the Fort. Unfortunately some soldiers, now 
and then, crossed the river to the houses of these settlers, and 
returned intoxicated, sometimes remaining out a day or two, 
or more without reporting to their quarters. Consequently, a 
deputy-marshal from Prairie-du-Chien, was charged to remove 
the houses. He went to work, assisted by soldiers, and un- 
roofed, one after another, the cottages, extending about five 
miles along the river. The settlers were forced to look for 
new homes ; they located themselves about two miles below 
the cave. Already a few parties had opened farms in this 
vicinity ; added to these, thQ new accessions formed quite a 
little settlement. Among the occupants of this ground were 
BoiCDEAU, who had purchased the only cultivated claim in the 
place — thatofPHELAN,yrrALGuERiN, Pierre Bottineau, Ger- 
YAis and his brother, &c., &c. — I deemed it my duty to visit 
occasionally those families, and set to work to choose a suit- 
able spot for a church. 

^^ Three points were offered. The first was La Pointe Basse 
or Pointe Leclair (now, on account of a sand bar in its vicinity, 



JOBMOIB OF KEY. LUCIAK GALTISB. 227 

commonly known as Fig's Eye bar.) I objected to this place ; 
it was the extreme end of the settlement, and, being low 
ground, was exposed in high water to inundation. The idea 
of having the church one day swept down to St. Liouis did not 
please me. Two and a half miles further up, on his claim, a 
Catholic, named Charles Mousssau, offered to me an acre of 
his ground ; but neither did this place suit my purpose. I was, 
indeed, looking ahead, to the future as well as to the present 
time. Steamboats could not stop here; the bank was too 
steep, and the space on the summit too narrow ; communica- 
tion would be difScult with the places of the other settlers up 
and down the river. After mature reflection, I resolved to put 
up the church as near as possible to the Cave, it being more 
convenient, on my way from St. Peter, to cross the river at 
that point, and that being the nearest spot to the head of 
navigation, outside the reservation line. 

^^ Messrs. B. Gbrvais and Vital Gukrik, two good, quiet 
farmers, owned the only ground^ that appeared likely to suit. 
They both consented to give sufficient land for a church, a 
garden, and a small grave-yard. I accepted the extreme east- 
em part of Mr. Yital's claim, and the extreme west of Mr. 
Gbrvais'. 

^^ In the month of October, 1841, 1 had, on the above stated 
place, logs cut and prepared, and soon a poor log church, that 
would remind one of the stable of Bethlehem, was built. The 
nucleus of St. Paul was formed. On Nov. Ist, 1841, 1 blessed 
the new Basilica^ smaller indeed than the Basilica of St. Paul, 
in Rome, but as well adapted as the latter for prayer and love 
to arise therein from pious hearts. 

^^ The church was thus dedicated to St. Paul, and I expressed 
a wish that the settlement should be known by no other name. 
I succeeded. I had, previously to this time, fixed my residence 
at St. Peter, and as the name of Paul is generally connected 
with that of Peter, and the gentiles being well represented in 
the new place in the persons of the Indians, I called it St. 
Paul. Thenceforth we could consider St. Paul our protector 
— and as a model of apostolic life, could I have desired a bet- 
ter patron? With the great apostle I could repeat : * When I 
30 



228 IfllfNBSOTA HIdTOSlCAL COLLBCTIONS. 

am weak, then I am powerfal/ — a good motto, I am sure, even 
for an apostolic bishop. 

^^The name, St. Paul, applied to a town or city, seemed 
appropriate. The monosyllable is short, sounds well, and is 
understood by all denominations of Christians. When Mr. 
Vital Guehin wa^ married, I published the banns as being 
those of ' a resident of St. Paul/ A Mr. Jackson put up a 
store, and a grocery was opened at the foot of the Gbbyais 
claim. This soon brought steamboats to land there. Thence- 
forth the place was known as St. Paul Landing, and later on, 
as St. Paul. When some time ago an efifort was made to 
change the name, I did all I could to oppose the project, by 
writing fVbm Prairie du Chien. 

**^ The families which I have mentioned as being on the Fort 
side, at the time of my arrival there, had afterwards to leave ; 
only two remained. I could not do much good, by continuing 
to reside there. The St. Peter Trading Poet was t^e only 
ground left me. I removed jthither, determined to remain 
steadfast as a rock. Mr. Faribault, the oldest pioneer of the 
place, a true gentleman, offered me a small house which I 
accepted ; it was repaired, and I made of it my chapel, con- 
tented to reside in a small corner of it, until more favorable 
circumstances. I visited St. Paul regularly and occasionally 
St. Croix Settlement, then called Willow River, and now, if I 
am not mistaken, Hudson. In 1842, June 5th, Bishop Lobas 
gave confirmation to a few persons. During a short absence 
of mine, Father Ravoux being at St. Peter, an accident threat- 
ened his life. One night while soundly sleeping in my little 
room, he was suddenly aroused by a tremendous cracking of 
the main beam, that supported the whole roof. Fortunately 
he was not hurt ; calling for help, he removed everything to the 
house of Mr. Faribault. Once more we had to make a mere 
room a temporary place for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 
Hearing of the accident, I left St. Paul, went to St. Peter, and 
at once took means to go to Chippewa Falls, in order to get 
the lumber needed for a new building. On, my return, I put 
men to work, and on the 2d day of Oct., 1842, I blessed the 
first church of St. Peter. From that time, up to the day of 
my removal, nothing deserving of notice happened, save the 



JOmOIB OF REV. LCCIAH GALTI1CR. 229 

passage of the venerable Bishop of St. Boniface, Mgr. Pro- 
YBHGHBB who for the first time, but not without mach danger, 
went, via St. Paul and the U. S. to Canada, a new route hitherto 
unknown. On the 29th of Oct., the little bell of St. Peter's 
chapel was blessed. On the 25th of May, 1844, 1 was leaving 
to better hands the yet barren field of my first mission, not 
without feeling deep r^pret — ^not without leaving friends behind 
me. ♦♦♦♦♦♦• 

^' LuciAN Galtibr.^ 

In relation to the buildings, spoken of in the above letter, 
we will state that Mr. Cakpbbll's house is still standing, it 
being one of the stone houses outside the enclosure of the 
Fort. The church in St. Peter, or Mendota, is also yet stand- 
ing. The one in St. Paul was taken tlown some years ago ; 
the logs are secure, and it is the intention to have them put 
together, as they formerly were, and thus have the old church 
preserved. This church fronted on Bench street, and was 
built on one of the lots of what is now called the Catholic 
Block. This Block is nothing else but the ground formerly 
occupied by Father Galtibr. 

From the Cathedral registers we learn that the number of 
baptisms performed by Father Galtibr, while in the North- 
west, were as follows : In 1840, 40; in 1841, 85; in 1842, 
35 ; in 1843, 27. His flock was small, but dispersed as they 
were, themselves strangers to material comfort, it required no 
small degree of courage and self-denial in a clergyman to labor 
among them. 

Father Galtibr, on his removal from the north, was placed 
in charge of the missions at Keokuk, Iowa. In 1848 he returned 
to 'France, intending to spend there the remainder of his life. 
He had been strongly pressed to take charge of the French 
congregation of the Cathedral at St. Louis, but refused. After 
some time spent in Europe, he again longed for the missionary 
life of an American priest, and again crossed the Atlantic. 
On his return, he was placed at Prairie du Chien, where he 
remained until his death, Feb. 2l8t, 1866. 

He visited St. Paul in 1853, and in 1865, and thus had 
opportunities oi seeing what his little chapel of St. Paul had 



I 



280 MINNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCnOVS. 

oome to. Even if he did have the fhture in view, when he was 
selecting the site of that church, we may feel sure in asserting 
that He never, in his most sanguine dreams, fancied that the 
settlement would become what it is, and what it is destined to 
be. He loved our city and our State dearly ; nothing in his 
old age used to afford him more pleasure than to meet with 
persons from St. Paul, and to enquire of them how our city 
was progressing. St. Paul, we are glad to say, remembers 
him ; his ftriends take an especial pride in the fact that his 
death was noticed in the proceedings of the Historical Society, 
and that, not many months ago, the City Council bestowed his 
name on one of the streets of St. Paul. 
June 10, 1867. 



MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OLMSTED. 



BY J. F. W. 

Some considerable time has elapsed since the death of the 
sabjeot of this sketch, and it might appear that the Historical 
Society is culpably tardy in doing this justice to his memory. 
But the delay has arisen solely fYom inability to procure the 
material requisite to prepare a memoir complete enough to be 
worthy of the subject. His career subsequent to his arrival 
in Minnesota was, of course, quite well known to the old 
settlers, and could have been easily written up ; but the por- 
tion particularly needed was the events of his early life, before 
settling in this State. The writer has been in quest of these 
for several years, but until very recently has been unable to 
secure sufficiently flill and accurate particulars of Mr. Olmsted's 
younger days, to warrant the publication of a memoir. From 
his brother, Paob Olmstbd, Esq., of Monona, Iowa, and from 
other sources, the writer has at length secured data and facts 
that enables him* to place on record in these Collections, a brief, 
but it is thought, correct memoir of one of the best and purest 
public men connected with the history of Minnesota — regret- 
ting only tbat the task had not fallen to one more competent. 

David Olmsted was born in Fairfax, Franklin county, Ver- 
mont, May 5th, 1822. His father, Timothy Olmsted, was 
descended from some of the earliest Puritan colonists of Con- 
necticut. In May, 1824, the residence of the family was com- 
pletely destroyed by fire, with most of its contents. This was 
a serious misfortune for Mr. Olmsted's family, as their means 
were limited, and it was only by some years of hard labor and 
strict economy that the loss was made good. It was an event 



282 lONNBSOTA HISTOEICAL 0OLLBGTION8. 

that closely affected the subject of this memoir, as it deprived 
him in a considerable degree of the education which he 
would otherwise have had, and he was able to obtain but a 
limited amount of school tuition. He had a mind active and 
quick, however, and made good use of such opportunities as 
he had, while the loss of schooling was in a great measure 
compensated by other advantages. His mother was a woman 
of unusual intelligence and discretion, and to her home training 
he was doubtless indebted more than to any other source, for 
the knowledge he acquired during his boyhood. 

In the spring of 1838, at the age of 16, he left home with the 
approbation of his parents, his sole means consisting of |20 
in money, to seek his fortune in the great West. By stopping 
occasionally to work when his means were exhausted, he reached 
Chicago in about a month. From Chicago he went to Mineral 
Point, Wisconsin, where he entered the employ of a Mr. 
Lathrop who was keeping a hotel. During the fall of that 
year the hotel was burned in the night, and Olmsted with 
several other inmates, narrowly escaped by Jumping from the 
window of an upper story, losing all their effects. 

Late in the fall of that year, young Olmstbd went to Grant 
county, Wisconsin, where he entered 40 acres of Government 
land^ lying on Grant river, about six miles north of Potosi. 
Here he lived for some months in the rude style of the mining 
region, keeping ^^bachelors iiair* with a friend named Willis 
St. Johh. In the fall of 1839 his brother Paob visited him, 
and chanced to find him very ill with bilious fever, the region 
at that time being very sickly. After his recovery, the Olm- 
8TBB brothers went to Prairie du Chien, and remained there for 
several months. 

In July, 1840, they started on foot on an exploring tour 
through the then unsettled portion of northern Iowa, on the 
waters of Turkey and Yellow Rivers, looking for a desirable 
place to settle. Their outfit consisted of a blanket and gun 
for each, and as much provisions as they felt able to carry. 
They spent about two weeks in examining the country, travel- 
ing over a considerable distance. They finally selected a spot 
about thirteen miles west of the Mississippi River, now named 
Monona, where, without a team or other help, they erected a 



MBMOIR OF HOK. DAVID OLMSTBD. ' 283 

comfortable log cabin. At this time there were but very few 
white settlers nearer than Prairie da Chien, on the east, and 
none whatever on the west of their location. The Winnebago 
Indians then possessed the country in the immediate vicinity 
north and west of the claim selected by the young pioneers, 
and the Olmsteds found it to their advantage to occasionally 
traffic with them, and consequently learned considerable of 
their character, customs and language — a fact which was prob- 
ably the cause of David Olmsted becoming subsequently cbn- 
nected with the Indian trade on a large scale. 

Less than one year after making their settlement, the Olm- 
sted brothers disposed of their Joint claim, and each took a 
new one in the same neighborhood. Up to this time the Win- 
nebagoes had been their only neighbors west and north, and 
but one white settler east or south nearer than seven miles ; 
yet by treating the Indians with perfect fairness they had won 
their confidence, and only on one occasion did the Indians 
show any signs of enmity. This was about November, 
1840, when seven young Indians came to the cabin occupied 
by the brothers, about sunset, and made threats to bum the 
cabin. The Olmsteds at once bolted the door of their cabin, 
when the Indians commenced trying to break it down. For- 
tunately at this juncture Mr. Harman Sntder, who had been 
for several years employed as government blacksmith among 
the Winnebagoes, came along, and being influential with the 
tribe, and speaking their language perfectly, he persuaded 
them to desist from their attack. Had he not done so, prob- 
ably the Olmsteds would have been murdered. This is but 
an instance of the dangers and risks to which all who lived in 
the Indian country in those days were subjected. When in 
liquor the savages would, perhaps, attack their best friend. 
The same trait was exhibited frequently by the Sioux. Dr. 
Williamson, an influential missionary to the Sioux at Kapo- 
sia, respected and beloved by them, was frequently compelled 
1io barricade his house, to save his life from the drunken at- 
tacks of those who, when sober, were his warm friends and 
supporters. 

David Olmsted continued improving his farm during the 
next three years, when, in the fall of 1844, being now twenty- 



234 MnnffBaOTA historical collsotions. 

.two years of age, he sold his claim to good advantage, and em- 
barked in the Indian trade, near Fort Atkinson, Iowa, as clerk 
for W. G. and G. W. Ewiko, licensed traders to the Winne- 
bagoes. In the fall of 1845, Mr. Olmsted was elected from 
the District in which he lived (Clayton coanty), as a member 
of the Convention to Arame a Constitution for a State Govern- 
ment in Iowa. The Convention assembled in May, 1846, at 
Iowa City. It consisted of thirty-three members. On May 
18th the instrument was completed and signed by the mem- 
bers, and being adopted by Ihe people, gave birth to the great 
and flourishing State of Iowa. We might mention as a fact, 
showing the primitive modes of traveling in Iowa, at that day, 
that a prominent citizen of Minnesota, [Hoa. L. B. Hoi>oe8,] 
saw Olmsted on his way to the Convention, riding a boai^e- 
ba(^d mtJe, with a rope haUer. Mr. H. further states that so 
youthful was the appearance of young Olmsted when he was 
elected, that many of his constituents thought he was not of 
age, but said they ^^ would send him anyhow," as he was so 
much esteemed. 

In the fall of 1847, Mr. Olmsted, in company with H. C. 
Rhodes, purchased the interest of the Bwmos in the Winne- 
bago trade, and in the summer of 1848, when the Indians were 
removed to Long Prairie, Minn., he accompanied them. 

The Winnebagoes had, in October, 1846, made, at Washing- 
ton City, a Treaty, by the terms of which they agreed to 
abandon their old possessions in the soon-to-be State of Iowa, 
and remove to a new reservation procured for them in the 
Chippewa country, in the year 1848. But when the time for 
their removal arrived, they seemed very reluctant to go, and 
it required all the diplomacy and influence of Gren, J. £. 
Fletcher,^ their agent, accompanied by the presence of U. S. 
troops from Fort Atkinson, with the threat of coercion, to 

1 JoKATHAN E]diB»ON Fletchxb waB bom at Thetford« Vt., 1806. He removed to 
Ohio when a young man, bat afterwards settled at Mnscatine, Iowa, in 1883, and 
went to farming. In 1846 he was appointed by Prest. Polk agent for the Winneba- 
goes, and remained in that position for 11 years. Daring this period he resided at 
Fort Atkinson, Iowa, Long Prairie, and Blue Earth, Minn. He returned to his farm 
at Muscatine In 1858, and died April 6, 1872. He left a wife and eight children , several 
of whom were born in Minnesota. A memoir of him in the Muscatine Journal says: 
* He was a man of marked and noted character -a man of talent, energy and industry, 
actuated at aU times by truth, right and Justice.'' 



MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OT^MTTED. 235 

induce the savages to start. At Wabasha Prairie (now Wi- 
nona) they made another stand, and having purchased that 
spot from Wabasha, the Dakota chief, seemed determined to 
resist to bloodshed any attempt to move them a step farther. 
The situation was now critical. The first drop of blood hastily 
spilled would have led to a bitter war.^ An express was dis- 
patched to Fort Sneiling for more troops, which soon arrived 
under command of Capt. Skth Eastman. This, with the dra- 
goons f^om Fort Atkinson, a company of volunteers from 
Crawford county. Wis., and two pieces of artillery, made quite 
a formidable force. The Winnebagoes began to reconsider 
their first hasty resolves, and the defection of a part of their 
number under an influential chief, added to the arguments and 
persuasion of Mr. Olmsted, Hon. Henry M. Rice, George 
Culver, and others who were present, finally convinced them 
that resistance would be unwise and ruinous, and they pro- 
ceeded on their journey. The value of the services that Mr. 
Olmsted rendered in quieting the revolt can hardly be over- 
estimated. Perhaps no man living had more influence with the 
tribe than he. They trusted him implicitly. Had he given any 
encouragement to their rebellious conduct, or said one word to 
urge them on, a long and bloody war with the tribe would have 
desolated the frontier. 

On arriving at Long Prairie, Mr. Olmsted, with his partner, 
established a trading post which was continued for several 
years. 

Soon after settling here, Mr. O. met with an adventure which 
well illustrates the dangers and casualties to which the pioneers 
of a new country are exposed. Believing that the road, or 
trail, from Long Prairie to Sauk Rapids (which was very cir- 
cuitous) could be shortened by a new route, he started on 
horseback in company with an old Frenchman named Decho- 
qubtte to survey and mark out a new route. At that time the 
region was a perfect wilderness ; no surveys had been made, 
and Nicollet's map was the only one they had. This was 
really of no use to them, and after proceeding some distance 
they became involved in a labyrinth of tamarac swamps, 

1 Gen. BiBLSY says in his RemlniBcenceB that "the Winnebagoea ware regarded aa 
anong the moat turbalent and dangerooB of the North Western aavagea." 
61 



236 MINNESOTA H18TOBICAL COLLECTIONS. 

marshes, sloughs and jangles, antil, at the end of the second 
day, they were utterly lost, and had not the faintest idea of 
where they were, or how to retrace their way. They now 
turned their horses loose, and endeavored to pick their way 
out, but without success. They floundered about in the swamps 
for seven days longer, wet, torn by briers until they were 
almost naked, and suffering the pangs of hunger. During this 
time all the food they had was a morsel of meat, and two sun- 
fish caught in a stream. They finally reached Sauk river, 
where a friend who had gone in search of them providentially 
found them, more dead than alive. During the last two days 
of their wanderings, Deohoquette's sufferings had driven him 
partially insane, and when they were found, neither could 
walk. Mr. Olmsted's naturally strong constitution wa^B very 
seriously impaired by the sufferings and hardship of this 
adventure. It was some time before his strength was measur- 
ably restored, and there is no doubt that it was the main cause 
of his early death at the age of 39, when he should have been 
iu the prime of life. 

The Territory of Minnesota was created March dd, 1849. 
On July 7th, Gov. Ramsbt issued a Proclamation dividing the 
Territory into Council Districts, and ordering an election for 
members of the Legislature, on August 7th. Mr. Olmsted was 
elected a member [for two years] of the Council from the Sixth 
District, which was constituted as follows : ^^The Sauk Rapids 
and Crow Wing Precincts of the county of St. Croix, and all 
the settlements west of the Mississippi, and on and north of a 
due west line from the head waters of said river to the north- 
ern line of the Territory." In the absence of any surveys or 
well known natural lines, this was the only way in which such 
a district could be described. The Legislature assembled on 
September 3d, and Mr. Olmstkd was chosen President of the 
Council. The next session of the Legislature was not held 
untilJanuary, 1851. It is unnecessary to add that Mr. Olm- 
sted took a prominent part in both sessions. His fellow- 
members and the public soon came to respect and esteem him 
as an honorable and reliable man, and a faithfUl public ofl9cer. 
His good sense, well-balanced judgment and practical views on 
all subjects that came up gained him much influence, and though 



MBMOIB OF HON. DAYID OL1C8TBD. 237 

modest and even taciturn, not thrusting himself forward in- 
cautiously, many selected him as one worth\^ of a higher 
position — indeed, one for which he was soon named. 

In 1851, Mr. Olxsted married a Miss Stevens, daughter of 
Judge Stevens, of St. Albans, Vt., by whom he had a son 
and daughter, both now residents of Minnesota. 

Soon after this, finding that the profits of the Indian trade 
were becoming so small as not to Justify remaining in it any 
longer, he disposed of his interest in it, and removed to St. 
Paul, where he not long afterwards purchased of Col. D. A. 
BoBEBTSON, proprietor of the Minnesota Democrat^ the news- 
paper establishment known by that name. Mr. Olmsted be- 
came proprietor on June 29, 1853, and remained publisher of 
the same until September 2, 1854. Without having much, if 
any, experience as a writer for the press, prior to his assum- 
ing the editorial chair, he nevertheless had good success in 
that capacity. His clear, logical mode of thought, mature 
judgment and practical common-sense views of every subject, 
gave his plain, terse writing a force and influence that many 
more polished writers could not have commanded. The pa- 
per largely extended its influence and circulation under his 
control, and was changed to a daily in May, 1854. In Sep- 
tember, 1854, he sold out to the late Charles L. £mbr80n, 
on account of his failing health. His connection with the 
D^nnocrcU had made him widely known and popular with the 
people of the Territory. 

In the spring of 1854, Saint Paul having been incorporated 
as a city, Mr. Olmsted was elected its flrst Mayor, a position 
which he held for one year. 

In 1855 Mr. Olmsted removed to Winona, then a village of 
a few houses, and devoted his energies to building up that 
now flourishing city. 

During the summer of 1855, Mr. Olmsted was brought 
prominently before the people of this Territory as a candidate 
for Delegate to Congress. On July 25, the first regular Re- 
publican convention was held in Minnesota, and Hon. Wm. 
R. Marshall nominated for Delegate. The same day, the 
Democratic convention met, and nominated Hon. Hbnrt M. 
Rice. During the proceedings, a portion of the delegates 



2db liniM£aOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

objecting to the tenor of certain resolutions passed, withdrew, 
and forming a new organization, placed Mr. Olmsted in the 
field. Thus there was a sort of '^ triangular " contest, three 
candidates, each with a leading journal advocating his claims, 
and a party of earnest friends supporting him. Many of the 
readers of this paper will remember the warmth of the contest. 
But they will fail, I think, to remember that during the entire 
campaign David Olmsted either said or tlid anything unfair 
or dishonest, or allowed his friends to do so, to aid his cause. 
The wing of the party which placed him in the field, however, 
was too feeble in strength to give him any chance of success, 
and Mr. Olmsted really received the smallest vote of the three 
candidates, though he came out of the contest with popularity 
unimpaired and honor untarnished. 

In the fall of 1856, Mr. Olmsted's health began to decline 
quite rapidly, and he was advised to spend the winter in Cuba, 
which he did, but.it failed to check the progress of the disease 
which was consuming him. His strong constitution and 
tenacity of will resisted the rapid inroad of the destroyer 
somewhat, but he felt that the end could not be far off. He 
therefore returned to Minnesota, and after visiting his relatives 
at Monona, Iowa, and Winona, came to St. Paul to see his 
friends here. It was his last visit, and was taken advantage 
of by them to secure the portrait which now hangs in the City 
Hall. In October he returned to his old home in Franklin 
Co., Vermont, to remain at his mother's house until the final 
summons should come. He was soon afber reduced so low as 
to be unable to leave the house, and indeed much of the time 
confined to his bed. Even in this stage, though suffering great 
physical pain and debility, he wrote frequently to his friends 
here. His letters dated during this period breathe an air of 
resignation and even cheerf\ilness, but evidently conceal a 
sadness when speaking of his wish to see his old friends in 
Minnesota once more. 

Death came to his relief after months of suffering, on Feb. 
2, 1861. The news was received with sincere regret by his 
friends in Minnesota, and the press paid generous and warm 
tributes to his worth and integrity. Saint Paul Lodge No. 2, 
I. O. O. F., and Ancient Landmark Lodge No. 5, F. A. M., of 



MBMOm OF HON. DAVID OLMSTBD. 289 

which he was a valued member, passed heartfelt resolutions 
of regret, and the *' Old Settlers Association" of Minnesota at 
their next annual reunion, placed on their records an appro- 
priate eulogy. On the map of our State his name is well 
bestowed on one of our most flourishing and populous counties. 
Perhaps I can do no better, to show the estimation in which 
he was held, than to quote some of the tributes paid to his 
memory by those who knew him most intimately. One of his 
friends thus truthfully sketched his character in a communica- 
tion to the St. Paul Pioneer: 

*' David Olmhtkd had a mind of peculiar order. His leading char- 
acteristics were firm integrity, honesty of purpose, adhesion to 
ftiends, charity for opponents, a retentive memory, good common 
sense, and sound Judgment. He was brave, bat never rash ; and was 
as modest as brave. No man ever saw him excited. Grateful for A- 
vors, he woold rather grant than receive them. Originally a Demo- 
crat, then a conservative Republican, firm In his own principles, al- 
ways respecting the views of others, he was never a partisan, bat 
always a patriot. Often absorbed in deep thought, even to absentr 
mindedness, and without a polished address, he nevertheless won the 
hearts of all by his kind, straightforward and manly condact." 

A clergyman who attended him in his last illness, writes : 
'^ He died in the faith of Christ, and in communion with his 
church. He died in peace." Another clergyman, who knew 
him intimately, writes : '' A loftier disdain, as stern and 
calm as it was lofty, of the base in character, I have seldom 
seen in any man, nor a warmer appreciation of simple honesty 
and singleness of heart in others." 

Capt. Sam. WHrriNG, (then of Winona) paid the following 
touching elegiac tribute to his friend : 

Vermont I thy green hills shroud in gloom. 
Thy noblest son has met his doom ; 
Pass'd, in his manhood*s pride and bloom, 

Away Arom earth ; 
Let us, 'round Olmsted's early tomb, 

Recall his worth. 

In Minnesota's earliest year 
He sought her hills, a pioneer, 
Full of ambition — void of fear 

And wily plan : 
One such as high and low revere— 

An honest man. 



240 UniKBSOTA HI8TOBICAL OOLLBOTION8, 

Well may thy stroke, O Death, appal, 
When thus earth's best and worthiest fUl, 
Unterrifled he heard thy call. 

And sank to rest. 
His spirit soars above the pall. 

Among the blest. 

Revered and loved while here on earth. 
Thou man of pare and sterling worth, — 
Though lone and cold thy homestead hearth, 

ThoQgh from ns torn, 
Our loss is bat thy blissAil birth 

To endless mom. 

OucsTED I thoa'rt sleeping with the dead. 
Yet o'er thy low and grassy bed, 
The sweetest rose shall rear its head, 

To deck thy tomb ; 
And on each sighing zephyr shed 

Its rich perfUme. 

Thy borial spot is hallowed ground. 
And oft thy friends shall gather round. 
Their joy subdued— their grief profound, 

As each shall tell, 
His virtues, who, beneath the mound, 

Is sleeping well. 

Yes, David Oimsted I though the sighs 
Of Mends bereaved for thee may rise, 
Thy soul, beyond yon radiant skies. 

Has reached that shore. 
Where all of human sorrow dies 

For evermore. 

Such is an imperfect sketch of one whose name must always 
be honorably associated with the history of Minnesota. Mr. 
Olmsted was a self-made man. Starting in life a poor boy, 
unaided by friends, with but little of the education bestowed 
*by schools, he was literally ^' the architect of his own fortune." 
Settling on the frontier, among a rude population, in a region 
almost a wilderness, with nothing but energy and industry, 
guided by unswerving principle and honor, he pushed his way 
to reputation and friends, to position, and — in some degree — 
to wealth. He had some peculiar traits of character which 



MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OLMSTED 241 

tended to gain for him that popularity which he enjoyed to such 
an enviable degree. He was emphatically a man of the people. 
Without seeming to court the good will of others, he had a 
quiet, natural suavity of manner that insensibly attracted men 
to him, and made even the humblest citizen in his presence 
feel himself a friend. There was something winning in the 
kindly tones of his voice, and the cordial clasp of his hand, 
and one felt impressed with its sincerity. And it tjoas sincere. 
No man had more strongly the feeling of Fraternity than 
David Olmsted. 

These traits, added to his exemplary character, his ability, 
and untarnished honor, made him beloved by his friends and 
respected and esteemed by all brought into contact with him, 
as perhaps no public man in our State has been, before or 
since. Even in times of the warmest political excitement, 
(and the rancor of territorial politics can scarcely be appre- 
ciated by our recent settlers,) he escaped detraction and 
slander. Or if not entirely, twenty years have now almost 
obliterated the animosities and differences that separated men 
into hostile parties in those days, so that all will now forget 
the resentments of the past and unite with me in laying a 
wreath upon the grave of one, on whose monument History, 
with impartial hand, must carve the tribute — ''a good and 
true man." 

St. Paul, March, 1874. 



REMINISCENCES OF THE EARhY DAYS OF 

MINNESOTA. 



BY HON. H. H. SIBLEY. 



In reviewing the ^' early times of Minnesota,'' I labor ander 
no slight embarrassment, from the fact that I have been a 
somewhat prominent actor in the affairs of the Territory and 
State since their organization respectively, so that it is simply 
impossible for me to avoid thrusting myself forward more 
frequently than good taste would dictate. I shall abstain 
from more than a passing allusion to political affairs, for the 
sufficient reason, that I could not relate my version of them 
without affording good ground of offense to some who regard 
them from a different stand point. I shall omit for the same 
reason, the details of the horrible Indian outbreak of 1862, 
which culminated in the slaughter of nearly a thousand of our 
citizens, together with the military measures for its suppres- 
sion under my immediate command, which resulted in freeing 
our State from the presence of the Sioux or Dakota and Win- 
nebago tribes of savages. These topics will be treated more 
fairly, and with less of prejudice and passion when the chief 
actors shall have passed away and the events judged by the 
light of impartial history. 

Having thus voluntarily circumscribed my field of narrative, 
it has occurred to me that a poition of this essay may with 
propriety be devoted to a description of the location and habits 
of life of the Dakota bands who were the possessors of this 
country in 1884 and subsequent thereto, and to some details 
of my hunting adventures in company with them, which, I 
trust will not prove wholly uninteresting. You will perceive 
that I have paid little or no attention to the chronological 



BXMIinaOBNOlfiS BT HON. H. H. SIBLBT. 243 

order of incidents, not deeming it important to be precise in 
that particular. 

The region embraced within the limits of the present State 
of Minnesota was first explored by Indian traders, Jesuit 
Fathers and French military officers, in the order in which 
they are placed. The enterprise, love of adventure, and hope 
of gain, of the first cla^s, and the pious zeal aod devotion 
of priests of the Catholic church, animated them respectively 
to extend their researches and explorations through all the 
principal avenues of communication in the Northwest, long 
before the great wave of immigration, which has within com 
paratively a brief period covered the land, had overtopped the 
Alleghany mountains. 

At the time that the English and French were waging bitter 
war with each other for the supremacy on the frontiers of eastern 
Canada, men of both nations were wending their way, through 
perils of every conceivable description, up the great lakes and 
rivers which opened to them a passage to the boundless woods 
and prairies of the great West. We are apt to pride ourselves 
that the stock to which we belong produces keener and more 
daring explorers than can be found elsewhere, but to those who 
have made themselves familiar with the adventures of the men 
of another race, who, in the 17th and the early part of the 
18th centuries, voluntarily encountered the dangers incident 
to voyages of thousands of miles through unknown inland seas 
and water courses, bordered by tribes of cruel and blood-thirsty 
savages, the boast will not pass current as a fixed and indis- 
putable fact. 

In what particular year the two first white men of whom we 

have any account crossed from the head of Lake Superior to 

the waters of the Upper Mississippi, cannot be stated with 

precision, but it was probably in 1659, more than two hundred 

years ago. They were Frenchmen. Other travelers succeeded 

them, at longer or shorter intervals, until, at length, the trade 

with Indians was established throughout the Northwest, and 

the banner of the Prince of Peace was unAirled among the wild 

beings who hitherto had gloried alone in their prowess in war, 

and in the chase. 
32 



244 MDnnsoTA historical oollbctions. 

THE PIOKKEBS OF MOimLflOTA. 

It is not my intention to recapitulate what has been written 
of the adventures of the discoverers of this region, or of their 
immediate followers. The annals of the Historical Society 
of this State contain what could be gathered of their history. 
I shall confine myself chiefly to events which have occurred 
since my advent to this country, thirty-nine (39) years ago. 
Most of those who were prominent at that time, and even subse- 
quently, have disappeared from this earth. And here allow 
me to say, that the pioneers of Minnesota as a class, were far 
superior in morality, education and intelligence to the pioneers 
of most of the other Territories, and they have left a favorable 
impress upon the character of the State. They were by no 
means free from the vices and frailties of poor humanity, but on 
the other hand., they were, for the most part, distinguished for 
charity to the poor and friendless, hospitable even to a fault, 
and enthusiastically devoted to the interests and the prosperity 
of our beautiful Minnesota. Although, generally speaking, 
men of limited school education, there were exceptions to this 
rule, individuals being found among them of respectable literarj' 
attainments. And they were for the most part religiously 
inclined. Men who like Cooper's Lbathkbstocking are brought 
face to face with Nature in her deepest solitudes, are led natu- 
rally to the worship of that Great Being whose hand alone 
could have created the vast expanse of wood and prairie, 
mountain, lake and river which spread themselves daily in 
endless extent and variety before their eyes. They were not 
particularly given to respect law, especially when it favored 
speculators at the expense of the settler. At the land sales at 
the Falls of the St. Croix, in 1848, when the site of the present 
city of St. Paul and the tracts adjacent thereto on the east side 
of the Mississippi were exposed to public sale, I was selected 
by the actual settlers to bid off portions of the land for them, and 
when the hour for^business had arrived, my seat was invariably 
surrounded by a number of men with huge bludgeons What 
was meant by the proceeding I could of course only surmise, 
but I would not have envied the fate of the individual who 
would have ventured to bid against me. 



BEMINISCBN01S8 BT HOK. H. H. SIBLBT. 245 

ABBIVAL IN XINNBSOTA. 

I arrived at the moath of the Minnesota River on the 7th of 
November, 1884. The trip from Prairie da Chien was per- 
formed on horseback in company with Albxis Baillt since 
deceased, and two hired Canadians. There was but one house 
between the two points named, a distance of nearly 800 miles. 
The building was a log hut about three miles below Lake Pepin, 
which long since fell in ruins. The occupant was a respect- 
able Indian trader named Bocqub. 

Our journey was without Incident worthy of note, except 
that we were nearly drowned a few miles above Prairie du 
Chien, in crossing the Mississippi river in a wooden canoe, 
which was capsized by the antics of a wild horse belonging to 
one of the party, swimming by the side of the clumsy and 
over laden transport. A Winnebago Indian engaged to guide 
us, as there were no roads on the west of the river in those 
days, but he abandoned us in the night after leading the party 
more than fifty miles too far westward, leaving us to find our 
way as best we could. When I first caught a glimpse of Fort 
Snelling, and descended the hills to Mendota, then called St. 
Peters, I little anticipated that the hamlet was to be my abiding 
place for 28 years.^ There were a few log houses at St. Peters, 
occupied by persons employed in the fat trade, and the post 
itself was the depot of the fur trade for a vast region. 

THB FOB TBADB. 

The district over which I had the control, as a partner with 
the American Fur Company of New York, extended from Lake 
Pepin to the Little Falls on the Mississippi and north and west 
to Pembina, all of the Minnesota valley and to the heads of 
the streams which are tributary to the Missouri river. There 
was a large number of trading stations within these extensive 
limits, which required the employment of many traders, clerks, 
and voyageurs. The latter were composed entirely of French 
Canadians, who were regularly engaged or enlisted, for three 
years, in Montreal, at a stated price per annum, in livres, the 
old French currency. 

1 Osir. SiBLBT became a resident of St. Paul in 180B. 



346 MIMNSSOTA HI8TOBIOAL OOLLBCTION8. 

There being no law^ dlBcipline had to be enforced among 
these men with the strong hand, although, as a general rule, 
they were obedient and trust-worthy. Until the voyageurs 
had completed their first term of three years, they were called 
Mangeurs du lard or pork eaters, a term equivalent to green- 
horns, and they had to pass through a severe probation, for 
they were made the subjects of innumerable practical jokes by 
the hivernants or winterers, who, having served their apprentice • 
ship assumed to rank very much higher than the pork eaters. 

The rations issued to the common men at that early period, 
consisted of two ounces of beef or buffalo tallow, and a quart 
of hulled corn per day, with two or three loads of ammunition, 
which was entrusted to the most successful hunter among them, 
to be expended in securing game for their joint benefit. 

The labors of these voyageurs, especially during the winter 
season, were excessively severe, as they were compelled to 
carry packages of fifty or a hundred pounds weight, frequently 
for days together, in visiting distant Indian camps, and to 
return laden with buffalo robes and the skins of other animals. 
Sometimes it occurred that they were overtaken by the snow, 
and were fain to take shelter under a drift, there to remain 
until the storm subsided. And yet under all such circumstan- 
ces of toil and exposure, these men were ordinarily cheerful 
and unmurmuring, and withal, faithful to their trust. 

The detachments of the voyageurs or engages came from 
Montreal in bark canoes, by way of the lakes to La Pointe on 
Lake Superior, and up the Brule River, from which the canoes 
and baggage were carried across to the waters of the St. Croix, 
and thence the canoes descended to the Mississippi. They 
were placed in charge of clerks, who also were hired for three 
years. There were some posts on the Minnesota River, the 
traders in charge at which had a reputation for sternness and 
severity towards their men, which had extended even as far as 
Lake Superior, so that the voyageurs on their way to this region 
were always cautioned by their countrymen employed at La 
Pointe to avoid, if possible, being placed under their control. 
This fact was also so well known at Mendota, that, on the 
arrival of the detachment, the clerk in charge would be directed 
to point out the most intractable and disobedient of the men, 



BEMIMISCENCES BT HON. H. H. SIBLBT. 247 

and these were forthwith dispatched to the dreaded points, 
there to undergo a course of discipline for their bad conduct, 
that was the reverse of pleasant. It happened occasionally 
that they attempted to desert, but they were invariably over- 
taken by some of the traders or clerks, or by the Indians, and 
conducted back to the post, where they were made to do addi- 
tional penance for the trouble they had given in their appre- 
hension. 

A few of the more important trading posts were enclosed by 
a high picket fence of the nature of a stockade, which was 
loop-holed for musketry. Of such were the stations at Lake 
Travers, and at Lac qui Parle. As a general rule, the Indians 
were respectful and friendly, but sometimes, when a hunter 
had failed to pay for the goods given him on credit the previ- 
ous year, and had made a dishonest disposition of the proceeds 
of his hunt, he would be refused further advances, which was 
a serious matter for him, and not only gave offense to the 
individual himself, but to his relatives. The ill-feeling thus 
engendered would occasionally find vent in actual violence, as 
was the case when my old and lamented friend JosEi*H R. 
Brown was shot in the shoulder and severely wounded by a 
Sisseton Dakota Indian at Lake Travers. 

The greatest punishment which could be inflicted upon a 
band of Indians for evil deportment of any kind, was the stop- 
page of their credits of ammunition and clothing, as they were 
more or less dependent upon these supplies, for the subsistence 
of themselves and their families. This was less the case with 
the upper bands, who lived principally upon the buffalo, for 
they could furnish themselves with food as well as necessary 
clothing, by means of their bows and arrows, which the lower 
bands could not do. 

THE EARLY TRADERS. 

When I made my first visit of inspection to the 'principal 
posts in 1885, Joseph R. Brown was in charge at Lac Travers 
near the head of the Minnesota river, Joseph Renville, at Lac 
qui Parle, Louis Piiovencalle, at Traverse des Sioux, and 
Jean B. Faribault at Little Rapids. Joseph Laframboisb 
was stationed on the Coteau de Prairie at the Lake of the Two 



248 immBSOTA histosical ooLLscnoNS. 

Woods, and Alezandeb Fabibault on the Cannon river. 
There were other prominent traders among whom may be named 
Alexis Bailly, N. W. Ejttson, Jambs Wells, Hazen Moobbs, 
PhilandkbPbescott and Fbancois LABArHE. Mabtik McLbod, 
Fbanklin Steele and Wm. H. Fobbes came into the country 
in 1837, iwd H. M. Rice in 1889 or 1840. The latter was at 
the head of an extensive trade with the Winnebagoes and 
Chippewas. Of the traders among the last mentioned tribe, 
with whom I was personally acquainted, were Wm. Attkin, 
Allan Mobbison, Clement Beaulieu and Donald McDonald. 
Messrs. Bobup and Oakes removed to St. Paul in 1849, ft'om 
Lake Superior, where they had been for many years at the head 
of the trade with the Chippewas of that region. This long 
list has been ciadiy curtailed by the great reaper, for there sur- 
vive, of all these individuals, only Alex. Fabibault, N. W. 
KmsoN, Fbanklin Steele, Wm. H. Fobbes, H. M. Rice, 
Clement Beadlibu, D. McDonald and Chas. H. Oakes. La- 
bathe and Pbescott were killed by the Indians on the first day 
of the outbreak in 1862, and James Wells met a similar fate 
in the following year, while hunting on the Coteau de Prairie. 

Joseph Lafbamboise who died several years since, was a 
capital mimic, spoke with fluency four or five different lan- 
guages and he was withal an inveterate practical Joker. He 
and Alex, Fabibault were wont to amuse themselves at the 
expense of Labathe, who was simple-minded, honest sort of a 
man, and by no means a match for his tormentors. 

A standing Jest at his cost, was his experience at a tea party 
at Fort Snelling. The trio mentioned was invited by Capt. G. 
of the army to take tea and spend the evening at his quarters, 
and the invitation was accepted. It was in the month of July, 
and the weather intensely warm. The party in due time were 
seated around the table, and the cups and saucers were of the 
generous proportions ignored in these modern and more fash- 
ionable days. It should be premised that Indian etiquette 
demands on all festive occasions, that the visitor shall leave 
nothing unconsumed of the meat or drink placed before him. 
The large cup filled with tea was handed to Labathe and the 
contents disposed of. The poor fellow at that time could 
speak nothing more of English than the imperfect sentence 



BS1IIKI6CENCB8 BY HON. H. H. 8IBLBT. 249 

^^ Tank you/' When bis cup was empty, Mrs. G., who was at 
the head of the table, said in her suave and gentle manner, 
^'Mr. Labathb, please take some more tea." Labathb re- 
sponded, ^' Tank you, madam," which being interpreted by the 
waiter to mean an assent, he took the cup and handed it to the 
hostess, and Mr. Labathb was forthwith freshly supplied with 
the hot liquid. Labathb managed to swallow it, sweltering 
meanwhile with the fervent heat of the evening, and again he 
was requested to permit his cup to be replenished. ^* Tank 
you, madam," was the only reply the victim could give. Seven 
great vessels full of the boiling tea were thus successively 
poured down bis throat, Lafbamboisb and Faribault meantime 
almost choking with suppressed laughter. For the eighth time 
the waiter approached to seize the cup, when the aboriginal 
politeness which had enabled Labathb to bear up amid his 
sufferings gave way entirely, and rising from his seat to the 
amazement of the company, he exclaimed frantically, '^ La- 
vRAUBOisEy pour Vamoir de bon Dieu^ pour quoi ne dUea vous 
pas a madame^ quije ne^n vetU point da/vantage.^* (^^ Lafram- 
BOISE, for the love of God, why do you not tell madame that I 
do not wish for any more tea?" ) Labathb never heard the 
last of that scene while he lived. 

The old man Rogque, mentioned as residing near Lake 
Pepin, afforded another instance of the inconvenience of not 
being able to speak English. He knew one compound word 
only, and that was roast beef, which he called ^' Bos-bif." He 
accompanied a Dakota delegation to Washington City on one 
occasion, and when asked at the public houses what be would 
be helped to, he could only say Bos-hif! So that the unhappy 
old gentleman, although longing for a chance at the many 
good things he would have preferred, performed the round trip 
on " Ros-bif." 

Having referred to Indian etiquette, I may as well narrate 
what was told of the performances of the Winnebagoes, of all 
Indians the most impudent. Twenty or thirty of them on their 
way to Washington before the era of railways, under the direc- 
tion of their agent and interpreter, discovered, or suspected a 
conspiracy between the landlords along the route and the stage 
drivers, by which their rations were materially curtailed, inas_ 



^ 



250 MINlfBSOTA HI8TOBICAL COLLECTIOK8. 

much, as before the> had half finished their meals^ the horn 
wonld be blown as a signal for their immediate departure. 
Becoming disgusted at such proceedings, after two or three 
untimely interruptions of that sort, they made it a rule, when 
they were repeated, to empty all the dishes on the table into 
their dirty blankets, then resume their seats in the stages and 
discuss matters at their leisure. Fish, flesh, vegetable<4, sugar 
and everything else they could lay hands on, shared a common 
fate, in spite of the remqnstrances of the ungry Bonifaces, the 
Indians coolly claiming that what had been placed before them 
had been paid for, and therefore belonged to them. 

THE DAKOTAS AND THEIR PRINCIPAL CHIEFS. 

The division of the Dakotas or Sioux, known as the M*day- 
wakantons or People of the Lakes, consisted in 1834 of seven 
distinct bands, whose summer residence was in villages, the 
lodges being built of elm bark laid upon a frame work of poles. 
These villages were situated at Wabasha prairie near the spot 
where the flourishing city of Winona now stands, at Red Wing 
and Kaposia on the Mississippi, three of the bands on the lower 
Minnesota river below Shakopee, and the Lake Calhoun band 
on the lake of that name. These bands could bring into the 
field about 600 grown warriors. The Wakpakootas or People 
of the Shot Leaf were in villages on the Cannon river, or rather 
on a lake through which it runs, a short distance f^om the 
present town of Faribault, and at a few other points. They 
numbered about 150 warriors. The lower Wakpatons or People 
of the Leaf, were located at the Little Rapids, Sand Prairie 
and on the banks of the Minnesota not far from Belle Plaine. 
The lower Sissetons occupied the region around Traverse des 
Sioux, Swan Lake and the Cottonwood extending to the Coteau 
de Prairie. The Upper Wak-paton villages were on the shores 
of Lac qui Parle, and those of the Upper Sisseton on Big Stone 
Lake and Lac Travers. All of these bands except the Upper 
Sissetons, were implicated in the massacres of 1862, and strange 
as it may appear, the very bands that opposed the movement, 
and denounced it f^om the beginning, and afterwards proved 
their sincerit}' by engaging as U. S. scouts. for the defence of 
the frontier against the raids of their hostile kindred, have 



BBMINISCENOJfiS BT HON. H. H. SIBLBT. 251 

been treated with greater inhumanity and neglect by. the gov- 
ernment, than fell to the lot of the guilty. After long and 
persistent efforts in their behalf by citizens cognizant of the 
facts, the authorities in Washington have at length made a 
scanty provision for them. 

The bands which have been enumerated, were all known and 
are still called by the Missouri River Dakotas, Isantis. They 
all raised corn to a considerable extent, and when the war of 
18C2 commenced, many of tbem owned large, well-fenced, well- 
cultivated fields, and comfortable houses. The authority of 
the chiefs in the olden time was very great, but from the date 
of the first treaties negotiated with the government it began to 
decline, until finally the chief was merely considered to be the 
mouthpiece of the soldiers' lodge, the members of which con- 
stituted the only real power in the bands. 

Old WABA.SHA, long since dead, was the leading hereditary 
chief of the People of the Lakes, and in all inter-tribal affairs 
of importance his word was law, not only with his own par- 
ticular band, but with all those belonging to the same division. 

LriTLE Crow, Senior, chief of the band at Eaposia, was also 
hi^ly respected among his people. He was very anxious that 
they should be taught to rely for subsistence upon the products 
of the soil, rather than upon the precarious fruits of the chase, 
and he set them a good example by working industriously in 
his own field. He was accidentally wounded in drawing his 
loaded gun from a wagon at his village, and he caused me to 
be notified a few hours afterwards. I forthwith applied to Dr. 
Tdbner, post physician at Fort Snelling, to accompany me to 
see the wounded chief, and he consented. Alex. Faribault 
went with us as interpreter. Upon arriving at the village, we 
found Little Crow recumbent in his lodge, and the doctor 
having examined the wound, pronounced it not only a danger- 
ous but probably a fatal one. When the opinion was announced 
to the old chief, he smiled and said the doctor was right, for 
he would be a dead man before the close of the following da3^ 
He then directed the lodge to be cleared of all but ourselves, 
and sent for his son *'To-wai-o-ta-doo-tah," the Little Crow 
who led the savages in the murderous outbreak of 1862. When 

he entered, the father told him to seat himself, and listen atten- 
38 



252 MINKBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBOTIONS. 

tively to his words. Addressing him, he told his son frankly 
that it had not been his intention to make him chief; that, 
although he was his eldest born, he had very little good sense, 
and moreover was addicted to drinking and other vicious hab- 
its ; ^^ but," said he, '^ my second son, on whom I intended to 
bestow the chieftainship at my death, has been killed in battle 
with the Chippewas, and I can now do no better than to name 
you as my successor." He proceeded to give him counsel as 
to his future course in the responsible position he was about to 
assume as the leader of the band, which would have reflected 
no discredit upon a civilized man similarly situated, except 
that he did not suggest a change of religious faith to that of 
the whites. On that topic he remained silent. After referring 
to the differences existing between the two races, he told his 
son that the Dakotas must accommodate themselves to the 
new state of things, which was coming upon them. The whites 
wanted their land and it was useless to contend against their 
superior forces. The Dakotas could only hope to be saved 
from the fate of other tribes, by making themselves useAil to 
the whites, by honest labor, and ft-ank and friendly dealing in 
their intercourse with them. ^^Teach your people to be honest 
and laborious," continued he, ^^and adopt such of the habits of 
the whites as will be suited to their change of circumstances, 
and above all, be industrious and sober and make yourself 
beloved and respected by the white people. Now my son, I 
have finished all I had to say to you. Depart to your own 
lodge, remembering my final admonitions, for to-morrow I 
shall die." The entire address was so solemn and impressive 
that we all listened with the deepest interest. The old chief 
then told us he hoped we would befriend his son and his band, 
and when we rose to depart, he shook us by the hand, expres- 
sed his gratitude for our visit and bade us farewell. He died 
the next day. 

The old chief evinced, on one occasion, some .of the chivalry* 
of the olden time, although in a manner somewhat revolting 
to the tastes of civilized men. Two of his favorite sons 
joined a war-party, which proceeded up the St. Croix River in 
search of Chippewas, and in a skirmish near the Falls, both of 



KEHIMISCENCBS BT HON. H. H. 8IBLBT. 353 

them were killed, but the bodies remained un-mutilated, the 
Chippewas having been driven olf with the loss of one man 
killed and another wounded. The father of the young men, 
who had remained in the village, was speedily notified of the 
occuiTence, whereupon he gathered all the wampum and silver 
work belonging to the members of his family, and taking his 
double-barrel gun, which he highly valued, he made a forced 
march, with others of his band, to the spot where the action 
took place. The bodies remained where they had fallen. 
Under his direction, the blood was washed from the features 
and replaced by war paint, new clothing put upon the bodies, 
the hair was combed, plaited and strung with small silver 
brooches, silver bands enclosed their arms and wrists, and a 
large quantity of expensive wampum was hung about the necks. 
When these details had been attended to, the corpses were 
arranged in a sitting posture secured to the trunks of trees, 
and the old chief deposited his double-barrel gun by their 
side, took a parting look at his dead children, shook them by 
the hand and returned to his village. Some of the Chippewas 
in two or three days afterwards, came back and appropriated 
the scalps and the valuables, and left the bodies uncared for. 
Having heard of these singular proceedings of the old chief I 
asked an explanation of LrrTLs Crow when next I saw him 
and he did not hesitate to give it. He said he had opposed 
the formation of the war party, but the young men were so 
bent upon avenging the death of some of their friends, who 
had been killed by the Chippewas, that he finally withdrew his 
objection. '^ My two sons," continued he, ^^joined the part}', 
and were killed. While 1 grieve deeply at their loss, they fell 
like brave men in battle, and the enemy was entitled to theii 
scalps. I wished the Chippewas to know by the treasures 
lavished upon the bodies, that they had slain the sons of a 
chief." Some weeks subsequently, he returned in person, col- 
lected the bones, and had them properly interred near the 
village. 

LiTTLB Crow, Junior, soon forgot the parting injunctions of 
his father. He was a drunkard, a confirmed liar, and was pos- 
sessed of very few redeeming qualities. Yet he was a man of 
great energy and determination. He was the leading spirit 



254 MINNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

of the pagan Indians, bitterly opposing all changes of dress 
and habits of life. He was no friend to missionary operations, 
but clang to the superstitions observances of his fathers. The 
latter part of his life is known to most of you. He encouraged 
the Indians in the prosecution of their bloody work in 1862, was 
the acknowledged head of the war party, and finally, in 1863, 
while engaged with a small band in a raid upon our frontiers, 
he was shot dead by a Mr. Lamson, his son who was with him 
only escaping to fall into the hands of a detachment of the 
troops under my command near Devil's Lake, a few weeks 
later. It is my conviction that no outbreak would have hap- 
pened, had either Wabasha or Little Crow, Senior, been 
living at the time. 

HUNTING INCIDENTS OF BARLT DATS. 

In the autumn of 1840, the men of the nearest Dakota vil- 
lages were desirous of going to hunt far to the southward, in 
a district of country 40 miles wide and more than 150 miles 
long, extending nearly to the Mississippi and southwest to the 
Des Moines River. This was called the Neutral Ground, from 
the fact that it had been purchased by the government from 
the tribes of Dakotas and Sacs and Foxes for the purpose of 
arresting hostilities between them by interposing a district 
which it was understood was not to be ordinarily occupied by 
the contending parties. The Dakotas were, however, unwilling 
to visit that dangerous region unless accompanied by a few 
white men, whose presence in their camp might be some pro- 
tection against an attack by the Sacs and Foxes. 

I agreed to accompany them, with Alex. Faribault, Wm. H. 
Forbes, and a couple of the Canadian voyageurs in my employ. 
A camp was soon formed of about 70 lodges, or rather more 
than 100 men with their families. We provided ourselves with 
a large buffalo skin lodge for our own use, which was new and 
as white as snow. Gen. John C. Fremont, then a simple Lieu- 
tenant in the U.S. Topographical Engineers, was a visitor at my 
house in Meudota about that time, he having lately come across 
from Fort Pierre, on the Missouri, with I. N. Nicollet, so well 
known as one of the leading scientific explorers of this region. 



REMINISCENCES BT HON. H. H. SIBLBT. 25b 

Fremont desired to be of our party, and it was arranged that 
Nicollet should continue his course down the Mississippi, 
while Fremont, aftt r having remained in our company as long 
as he felt inclined to do so, should be safely conducted to 
Prairie du Chien. Jack Frazbr, of whom some of our citizens 
have read, a mixed blood Dakota, was to be of our party also. 
The two Canadians . drove horse carts laden with articles 
requisite to make us comfortable. Thus provided, and all of 
us well armed, we set out on our journey. 

The view presented by so large a party of Indians on the 
march was rather imposing. Each of the families was posses- 
sed of one or more ponies, and these animals were attached to 
poles, one end of which was fixed on each side of the Indian 
saddle, like the shafts of an ordinary vehicle, while the other 
ends trailed upon the ground ; there being a sort of basket 
made of interlaced leather thongs attached to the poles, upon 
which were placed the skin lodge, and others of the heavier 
articles, with a young child or two on the top of the load. The 
horses were led by the women, the elderly men taking ihe lead, 
while the other members of the families old enough to walk, as- 
sumed their appropriate places in the procession. One family 
followed another in single files so that the line was extended to 
a great lenglh. When they arrived at the banks at a stream 
required to be crossed, ihe women were expected to carry over 
the baggage on their shoulders. These streams are generally 
rapid but seldom more than waist deep, except in seasons of 
high water. It was a favorite amusement for certain ^4ewd 
fellows of the baser sort*' who indeed comprised most of the 
young men, to station themselves along the banks when a 
crossing was in progress, and make impertinent allusions to 
the ancles of the softer sex, which were somewhat exposed, 
the current acting upon their garments in the same manner as 
a strong wind upon the crinoline of our fashionable ladies. 
The mottiers and other female relatives of the young girls, 
excessively enraged at such freedom of observation, made it a 
point to drive off the intruders, by a heavy discharge of sticks 
and stones. The camping spot was designated by the soldiers, 
and upon the arrival at the ground of the families, the ponies 
were unloaded and turned out to graze, poles cut, and the 



256 aClNKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIOVS. 

lodges raised in an incredibly short time by the women, the 
men meantime, or such of them as were not engaged in hunt- 
ing, quietly smoking their pipes. The man's business is to 
furnish the tenants of the lodge with food and clothing, and 
the females must do all the rest. In fact, a woman would feel 
ashamed to see her husband performing any of the labor or 
drudgery about a camp.' 

A few days after our departure Fremomt, Faribault, Fkazbr 
and myself left Forbes and the Canadians to continue the 
march with the Indians, and struck off to the west of the route, 
hoping to fall in with buffalo. We were on horseback, and 
having reason to believe that game would be found in abun- 
dance, we took nothing in the shape of provisions with us, 
except a few pounds of wild rice. We promised to rejoin the 
main body in ten or twelve days. I shall not dwell upon the 
details of our trip. We found that game was exceedingly 
scarce, and although Faribault and myself each killed a huge 
male elk, we took but the tongues and a small portion of the 
meat, expecting to be able to kill animals for daily consump- 
tion, but we were sadly disappointed. We hunted industriously 
the next day, but saw nothing, and for three entire days we 
had nothing to eat but wild rice boiled, without salt or other 
condiment. Now wild rice is a good addendum to substantial 
fare, but as the only food for a hungry man, it barely serves 
to keep the wheels in motion. On the morning of the fourth 
day. Jack Frazer came across a venerable old stag, lying in 
the long grass by a rivulet, probably too infirm and advanced In 
age to make an effort to escape, and shot him. There was little 
but skin and bone, nevertheless, what with the marrow bones and 
the small quantum of flesh upon the carcase, it was a decided 

1 NoTJe.— I give Indian life ae it really is, not as represented by the poet Long- 
fellow In the following passage— Hiawatha p. 899, Edinbnrg Ed.: 

** Over wild and rushing rivers, 
In his arms he bore the maiden; t 

Light he thought her as a feather, 
As the plnme upon his head-gear; 
Cleared the tanpled pathway for her. 
Bent aside the swaying branches. 
Made at night a lodge of branches 
And a bed with bonghs of hemlock. 
And a fire before the doorway 
With the dry cones of the pine tree." 



RBMIinSOBKGBS BT HON. H. H. BIBLBT. 257 

improvement upon the wild rice. The prairie was set on fire 
by some miserable savage, and we were awakened after mid- 
night by the roaring of the flames, and it was not withont 
much exertion that we saved ourselves and our animals from 
destruction. In fact, a led horse belonging to Fiuzbb had 
strayed from the camp and was burned to death. This pursuit 
of pleasure under difficulties became somewhat tedious, and 
we turned our horses' heads in the direction of the line of march 
of the Indians, and rejoined them the next day. We continued 
with them hunting daily, until we reached the Upper Red Cedar 
River, a branch of the Lower Iowa, which brought us to the 
northern border of the neutral ground. At this point, Fre- 
mont, disgusted with the toils and exposures of that mode of 
life, of which at a later period he was destined to experience 
a full share, proposed to depart for Prairie du Chien, a distance 
of more than 150 miles. I agreed to accompany him, taking 
with me Jack Frazbb and the two Canadians with their horse 
carts. I promised Faribault and Forbes, who were left behind 
with the Indians, that I would rejoin them if possible within 
twenty days. 

Our Journey was by no means an agreeable one. The 
streams, which are numerous in that region were high, and for 
the most part skimmed with ice, which made the process of 
swimming them uncomfortable in the extreme. 

After some adventures, among which may be mentioned a 
narrow escape from a visitation by a large war party of Sacs 
and Foxes — we arrived safely at Prairie du Chien, where 
Fbbmomt and Frazer and myself parted company. I returned 
with my two Canadians driving their horse carts, and accom- 
panied by an old hunter named Reed, who proved to be a right 
good fellow, as well as a capital shot. When I reached the 
Indian camp on the Red Cedar, I was met with cordiality by 
my friends Forbes and Faribault, as well as by the Indians. 
As I had been absent 28 days, they were all apprehensive that 
I and my companions had fallen victims to the Sacs and Foxes, 
whose trail had been discovered by the Dakotas, or been 
drowned in crossing the swollen streams. We left the Indians 
to themselves after the lapse of two or three days, and returned 
to our homes at Mendota, having been absent 70 days. 



258 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCnONS. 

About noon of the first day's march the sun shone with such 
fervor that the snow disappeared from the burnt prairie with 
marvelous celerity, and we had to abandon our sleds in turn, 
and pack what we could upon the backs of our horses, we 
leading them by the lariats. As we had considerably more 
than two hundred miles to perform on foot over the frozen and 
rugged surface, the prospect was not remarkably bright. Still 
we got along very well. We fell in with two herds of elk on 
the route, numbering at least five hundred in each, but we only 
killed a few of them, as I always made it a rule to abstain from 
useless slaughter. We arrived at Mendota in due time, having 
been absent seventy days, and were warmly welcomed by our 
friends in the village and at Fort Snelling, all of whom had 
been anxious on our account, there having been rumors afloat 
that we had been cut off by the savages. 

The following year (1841) we made another expedition to 
the same region on a much larger scale, but I do not propose 
to weary you with a detailed recital of all the incidents that 
occurred, for I was absent from the first of October until tne 
first of March succeeding, a period of five months. It may be 
interesting, however, to describe the mode of inaugurating a 
movemeut of this kind, and of making soldiers among the In- 
dians. This, with a few brief details connected with the 
excursion, will close the narrative of hunting adventures in 
which I was a participant, although I could extend it to an 
indefinite length, so much time was I accustomed to spend 
every year in such sports. 

As usual, a feast was announced to be given at Mendota on 
a day designated, to which I was called upon to contribute two 
fat oxen and a large quantity of corn. Invitations were ex- 
tended to the men of the several villagen, and there appeared 
to partake of the good things, at least one thousand men, 
women and children, the two latter not having been included 
in the bill. After the gorging process had gone through with, 
and the pipe smoked, several hundred small sticks painted red 
were produced, and were offered for the acceptance of each 
grown warrior, the object of the assemblage having previously 
been made known by one of the principal men present. It was 
understood that whoever voluntarily received one of these 



B1UinnSCKMCE8 BT HOV. H. H. SIBLKT. 259 

Sticks was solemnly bound to be of the hunting party, under 
the penalty of punishment by the soldiers. About one hundred 
and fifty men accepted, and thereupon were declared duly en- 
rolled. These men then detached themselves from the main 
body, and after consultation, selected ten of the bravest and 
most influential of the young warriors to act as soldiers, having 
absolute control of the movements, and authorized to punish 
any infraction of the rules promulgated for the government of 
the camp. It was then announced by the soldiers that in six 
days thereafter the buffalo skin lodges should be pitched on a 
spot in the rear of Mendota, and there must be no default in 
appearing on Ihe part of any one. The interval was employed 
in preparations. At the appointed time, all were present but 
one family, the head of which declined to proceed. As soon 
as this was made known, five of the soldiers went to the 
delinquent's village, 12 miles distant, and reappeared in a few 
hours with the man's lodge and its appendages, packed on the 
backs of his horses, himself and family following with down- 
cast looks. The poor victim seemed to be utterly amazed at 
this summary proceeding, and the soldiers kindly let him off 
without further infliction, but warned him that a second attempt 
to evade his obligation would be visited with exemplary pun- 
ishment. He gave them no more trouble, but quietly assumed 
his place in the ranks. 

We allowed the Indians to precede us three or four days, 
and overtook them on the Cannon river, when alike with the 
Indians, we became subject to the control of the soldiers. At 
the close of each day, the limits of the following day's hunt 
would be announced by the soldiers, designated by a stream, 
a grove or other natural object. This limit of each days hunt 
was ordinarily about ten miles ahead of the proposed camping 
place, and the soldiers early each morning went forward and 
stationed themselves along the line, to detect and punish any 
one who attempted to pass it. The reason for the adoption 
of such a rule was that in a large camp, the young men, unless 
restrained, would over run the country for a great distance in 
advance, and frighten away the game, so that a supply of 
food would with difllculty be obtained from that source. The 

penalty attached to the violation of any of the rules of the 
34 



260 HINIfESOTA HI8TOBIGAL COLLECTIOVS. 

camp was discretionary with the soldiers. In aggravated 
cases they would thresh the offender anmercifhliy. Sometimes 
they would cut the clothing of a man or woman entirely to 
pieces, slit down the lodges with their knives, break kettles, 
and do other damage. I was made the victim on one occasion, 
by venturing too near the prohibited boundary. A soldier 
hid himself in the long grass, until I approached snflSciently 
near, when he sprang from his concealment, gave the soldier's 
whoop, and rushed upon me. He seized my fine double-barrel 
gun, and raised it in the air, as if with the intention of dashing 
it against the ground. I reminded him that guns were not to 
be broken, because they could neither be repaired nor replaced. 
He handed me back the gun and then snatched my fur cap ftrom 
my head, ordering me back to camp, where he said he would 
cut up my loilge in the evening. I had to ride ten miles on a 
cold winter's day bare-headed, but there was no recourse, as 
it is considered disgraceful in the extreme to resist a soldier 
while in the discharge of his duty. When I reached the lodge 
I told Faribault of the predicament in which I was placed. 
We concluded that the best policy would be te prepare a feast 
for the soldiers, to mollify them. We got together all the 
best things we could muster, and when the soldiers arrived in 
the evening, we went out and invited them to come and appease 
their hunger in our lodge. The temptation was too strong to 
be resisted. They entered, and soon devoured all that had 
been provided for them. We then filled their pipes and pre- 
sented each of them with a plug of tobacco, at the same time 
intimating that as they had been well treated, it would not be 
a kind return to have our beautifiul white lodge cut into 
ribbons. They agreed not to interfere with it, and kept their 
word. The soldier who had worn my fur cap during the day 
returned it to me, but I did not venture to make use of it until 
it had undergone a long process of fumigation. 

When we reached the big woods of the Red Cedar, the lodges 
were permanently established for the winter, and were sur- 
rounded by high pickets, which were not imbedded in the earth, 
but placed so as to rest upon transverse poles, supp irted by 
upright forked posts. The branches of the felled trees were 
then piled around the base of the pickets, forming a ckevatix 



RElflKISCENCEfl BT HON. H. H. 8IBLET. 261 

de frisej which rendered an attempt to pall down any portion 
of the defences, both difficult and dangeroas. Spaces were 
left between the pickets to answer the purpose of loop-holes 
for musketry. Upon the whole, the fort as it was called, was 
so constructed, as not to be easily stormed by an enemy. The 
women and children being thus placed in security, under the 
guard of a few men who were too old and infirm for active 
service, the hunters were left at liberty to follow their vocation 
untrammelled. 

The presence of Faribault being required at his trading 
post on the Cannon riv.er, he departed in company with two 
young Indians, leaving me alone with the two hired men. I 
made it a practice to hunt with the Indians every day, except 
on Sunday, when I remained in my lodge. The Dakota mode 
of hunting deer is to form an extended line with intervals of 
eighty or a hundred yards between the hunters, and then ad- 
vance at a rapid pace, completely scouring the country on their 
way. Any one falling in the rear has but a poor chance for 
success. When an animal is killed, the carcass remains on 
the spot until the return of the owner, after the conclusion of 
the day's hunt. The skin is then taken off, and with a portion 
of the hind quarters, is the property of the man who shot the 
deer or elk, and the remainder is equitably divided among such 
as have been less successfhl, or to the widows and orphan 
children in the camp. The rule is, that while there is any food 
on hand, it must be distributed to all alike. There was a 
great abundance of game in the country where we were 
encamped, so that from twenty to thirty deer were an average 
day's hunt besides the elk, bear, and other animals killed with 
fire arms, and beaver and otter taken with traps by the men 
who were past the age when they could endure the exhausting 
exercise of deer hunting. 

I left the camp at an early hour one day to ^^ still hunt" in a 
direction different from that to be taken by the Indians. I was 
successfVil, and returned to my lodge bearing upon my shoulders 
the greater part of a young buck. I soon ascertained that there 
was quite a commotion in the camp. One of the women came 
to inform me that all the men except five old fellows, who could 
not travel, had gone down to the forks of the Red Cedar, more 



262 MINNEBOTA HISTORICAL COLLKCTIOITS. 

than forty miles distant, where they intended to remain and 
hant for three or four days, and she farther stated that a 
strange Indian had been seen behind a tree outside of the 
camp, taking observations. This intelligence startled me not 
a little, for I at once suspected that a scout had been sent for- 
ward by some war party of the Sacs and Foxes to reconnoitre, 
preparatory to an attack upon the camp. Seizing my rifle, 
and followed by two huge wolf dogs, my constant companions, 
I sallied forth and examined the spot where the Indian was said 
to have been seen. As there was snow on the ground, a trail 
could be easily followed. There was no mistake, for there was 
the moccasin track of a man, and from the appearance he had 
but recently left the place. I followed the trail for nearly two 
miles, when it occurred to me that even should I overtake the 
stranger, I would have no right to shoot him, and it was by no 
means probable that he would surrender without a fight. I 
therefore abandoned the pursuit, and went back to the camp 
with a foreboding that it would be attacked during the night. 
I called the five old men together, and explained to them the 
condition of things, and that the salvation of the women and 
children depended upon their vigilance and courage ; that the 
night must be spent in watching. They assented to my sugges* 
tions and we all made such preparations as were in our power 
to meet the threatened assault. There was one main entrance 
which I determined to hold in person, with the assistance 
of a half breed boy, the Canadians having been despatched to 
a trading house below for some needed articles. The four small 
entrances were to be guarded by the old men, who were passa 
bly well armed. 

Taking our stations, we awaited the denouement of the affair. 
About 8 o'clock in the evening the women reported having 
seen men moving in the woods on one side of the camp. I 
forthwith mustered all hands and directed a general discharge 
of the firearms in that direction, so as to produce an impres- 
sion that we were on the alert, and had more men in camp than 
there really were. I fired five shots from my double-barreled 
gun, rifie and pistols, and all the others followed suit, so that 
there was quite a respectable display of force. No further 
alarm was given until three o'clock next morning, when every 



RE^IONISCKNCBS BT HON. H. H. SIBLEY. 263 

one of the numberless Indian dogs in the encampment com- 
menced barking and made a rush to the outside of the stockade. 
I firmly believed that the decisive moment had arrived, and so 
thought all the tenants of the lodges, for the old men began to 
sing their dismal death songs, the women screamed, and the 
children cried, so that together with the howling and barking of 
the dogs, there was such a concert of anything but harmonious 
sounds as never before greeted the ears of a civilized being. 
I sent the boy to still the tumult if possible, telling him to say 
to the old men and the women that their loud demonstrations 
of alarm were certain to invite an attack. The bipeds and 
quadrupeds were finally silenced, and I must confess that I was 
rejoiced when the dawn appeared. I went forth at sunrise to 
examine the surroundings, and found in the snow the tracks of 
many moccaslned feet, and following the broad trail I was led 
to the place where the enemy, some fifty or sixty in number, 
had tied their horses to the trees. They probably were de- 
terred from venturing an attack by the strength of the defences 
and the certainty that they could not efiect an entrance with- 
out the loss of more men than they were willing to sacrifice. 
I selected a young active looking Dakota boy who might be 
fifteen years old, and asked him if he was man enough to follow 
the trail of the hunters to the forks, and he replied, proudly, 
that he was. ^' Hasten, then," said I, " and tell the men to 
return without delay.*' He sprang away at a rapid pace, and 
communicated my message to the hunters, and shortly after 
midnight of the same day we heard gladly the reports of guns 
at intervals to indicate their approach. The distance accom- 
plished by the boy in eighteen or twenty hours, going and 
returning, was considerably over eighty miles. I reproached 
Little Crow, who was with the party, for the recklessness 
displayed by him and the others, in leaving so large a number 
of defenceless women and children in an enemy's country, in 
an unguarded camp. He acknowledged it was very foolish to 
do so, and promised that such carelessness should not be re- 
peated. In the morning a number of the fastest runners were 
dispatched on the enemj'^'s trail, but they were too well mounted 
and had too long a start to be overtaken. 

Before leaving home, I learned that a party of white men 



264 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

were about being despatched to the Little Red Cedar River to 
erect buildings for a government agency, the neutral ground 
having been transferred by the authorities to the Winnebago 
tribe of Indians. Being desirous of ascertaining the location, 
I started on what I supposed to be a Sabbath morning, with 
my two noble hounds, and after a brisk walk of twenty miles 
through the woods, I stumbled' upon a clearing where there 
was a log hut, and eight or ten men employed in labor of vari- 
ous kinds. I had allowed my hair to grow very long, and for 
some time past had vvorn no other covering on my head, and 
being bearded like a pard, and dressed in Indian costume, with 
two enormous dogs at my heels, the men crowded about me, 
wondering where such a wild man of the woods had come from. 
A gentleman named Thomas was in charge of the party, who 
was quite well known to me. I introduced myself by name, 
but Thomas failed to recognize me, and evidently suspected I 
was assuming a character to which I had no claim. Finally, 
I satisfied him of my identity and he gave me a hearty welcome. 
As we entered the cabin, I expressed my surprise that he per- 
mitted his men to labor on Sunday. ^' Why," said he, ^Hhis 
isn't Sunday, but Thursday." It was difiScult for me to believe 
I had so far erred in my reckoning, for I was in the habit of 
noting down A*om time to time on my memorandum book any 
incidents worthy of mention, with the dates. It was a fact, 
nevertheless, that I had been keeping Thursday instead of the 
Sabbath. Mr. Thomas pressed me to remain until the next 
day, but I declined, and took up my march to the camp, 
which I reached late at night. 

In the latter part of the month of February, I bade adieu to 
the Indians and wended my way to Prairie du Chieu, and thence 
on the ice of the Mississippi to Mendota. I had not had any 
communication with my friends for four months, and my safe 
arrival was a great relief to them. 

During my residence in the Indian camp, I had been treated 
with deference and respect, and no attempt ^as made to annoy 
me, except in one instance, when some miscreant, probably in 
a bit of ill humor with the whole camp, kindled a fire in the 
middle of the night, under the cart which stood very near my 
lodge, and which contained two kegs of gun-powder of fifty 



BBinNIflCKVCKS BT HON. H. H. SIBLET. 265 

pounds each. The dense smoke awaked both myself and the 
Canadians and we rushed out to discover the cause. The floor 
of the cart was on fire immediately under the kegs, and a delay 
of a few minutes would have been followed by an explosion 
which would have blown us and the tenants of the soldiers' 
lodge close by to atoms, and occasioned great destruction in 
the other parts of the camp. We removed the powder in haste, 
and then extinguished the fire. Efforts were made to ferret 
out the author, but without success, nor was I able to fix 
suspicion upon any one. 

The havoc made among the game may be estimated, when I 
state, that more than 2,000 deer, 50 or 60 elk, many bears, and 
a few buffaloes, had been destroyed before I separated from 
the Indians. To these maybe added five or six panthers. 
Faribault shot a young one before his departure, and narrowly 
escaped death or severe injniy from its enraged mother, which 
was about springing upon him when one of my hounds seized 
her from behind, and arrested her course. She shook herself 
freeft'om her antagonist, and dashed away into the forest, 
fortunately without injury to the dog in the struggle. 

BOUNDARY CHANGES — EARLY LAW MATTERS. 

It may seem paradoxical, but it is nevertheless '.^rue, that I 
was successively a citizen of Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and 
Minnesota Territories, without changing my residence at 
Mendota. The Jurisdiction of the first named terminated when 
Wisconsin was organized in 1836, and in turn Iowa extended 
her sway over the west of the Mississippi in 1838. When the 
latter was admitted as a State with very much diminished area, 
the country lying outside of the State boundaries, was left with- 
out any government until the establishment of the Minnesota 
territorial organization placed us where we now are. 

It was my fortune to be the first to introduce the machinery 
of the law, into what our legal brethren would have termed a 
benighted region, having received a commission of Justice of 
the Peace from the Governor of Iowa Territory, for the County 
of Clayton. This County was an empire of itself in extent, 
reaching Arom a line some twenty miles below Prairie du Chien 



266 XlNirBSOTA EUSTOEICAL OOLLBCnOMS. 

on the west of the ^'Father of waters" to Pembina^ and across 
to the Missouri river. As I was the only magistrate in this 
region and the coonty seat was some thi-ee hundred miles 
distant, I had matters pretty much under my own control, there 
being little chance of an appeal from my decisioi|8. In fact 
some of the simple-minded people around me, firmly believed 
that I had the power of life and death. On one occasion I 
issued a warrant for a Canadian, who had committed a gross 
outrage, and then fled from justice. I despatched a trusty 
constable in pursuit, and he overtook the man below Lake 
Pepin, and brought him back in irons. The friends of the 
culprit begged hard that he should not be severely punished, 
and after keeping him in durance vile for several days, I agreed 
to release him if he would leave the country, threatening him 
with dire vengeance if he should ever return. He left in great 
haste and I never saw him afterwards. 

In my own county of Dakota, at a later period, we had some 
bright and shining lights among those who held commissions 
as magistrate. One case of assault and battery was tried be- 
fore a justice at Mendota, who was a very worthy, upright 
Frenchman, but indifferently versed in the English language. 
One of the leading members of the bar was imported from 
Ramsey county for the defense. He made a powerful and 
logical argument for the prisoners of at least an hour's dura- 
tion I was sitling in my office next door to the court room, 
when the justice entered hastily, and said to me in French : 
'* That infernal lawyer has been talkiog to me until I am tired, 
and I have not understood one word in ten that he has said," 
and he then asked me what he should do. I told him he had 
heard the evidence, and should be governed thereby in his 
decisions, and not to pay any attention to the speech, and I 
believe he did decide properly. When I told the counsel after- 
wards that he had thrown much eloquence and erudition to the 
winds, he was astounded, ^' for," said he, '^ the justice never 
took his eye from me while I was speaking, and I flattered my- 
self upon having produced a profound impression." 

Another justice, not a hundred miles from Kaposia, was 
called upon to decide between two adverse claimants, who 
agreed to waive the right to a jury trial. After hearing the 



REMTinSCBNCES BT HON. R. H. 8IBLBT. 267 

evidence, the magistrate decided in favor of the plaintiff, where- 
upon the defendant accused him of partiality and injustice, 
and the dignity of the bench came very near being seriously 
compromised b}* a fisticuff between the court and the party 
who considered himself aggrieved. An appeal was taken to 
the District Court by the defendant, and when the writ was 
served upon the justice ordering him to produce a transcript 
of his docket and other papers in the case, instead of comply- 
ing with the mandate of the court, he sat down and committed 
to paper a long and elaborate address to the judge, setting 
forth that the appellant had abused him, that he was a mean 
scamp generally, and concluded by stating to his honor that 
he had en*ed in granting the appeal, and if he wanted the 
papers in the case he might look for them, as he, the justice, 
would have nothing further to do with it. That paper ought 
to have been secured for the Historical Society. It was duly 
dispatched to the judge and I heard it read by the clerk, and 
I much doubt if ever a document produced a greater sensation 
in a court room than that did. It was subsequently abstracted 
from the files, doubtless by some one who had a laudable 
desire to become learned in the law. 

I had the honor of being the foreman of the first grand jury 
ever empanelled on the west of the Mississippi River, in what 
is now the State of Minnesota. The court was held at Men- 
dota. Judge Cooper being assigned to that district. His honor 
delivered a written charge of considerable length, and really 
it was an able and finished production. Unfortunately, out of 
the twenty odd men who composed the jury but three, if I 
recollect rightly, could speak £nglish, the rest being French 
men, who were to a man proloundly ignorant of any language 
but their own. As a matter of course, they were highly edified 
while engaged in listening to the Judge's charge. 

Major Joseph R. Brown, lately deceased, who has been 

already mentioned, resided at an early day at Grey Cloud 

Island on the Mississippi, in the county of St. Croix, now 

Washington. He too was a Justice of the Peace, and on one 

occasion was called upon to decide between two Canadian 

Frenchmen named Parant and LeClajre, who claimed the 

same piece of land at Pig's Eye, a few miles below the city of 
35 



268 icnmBsoTA histoiugal collsctioiis. 

St. Paul. Bbown was in a dilemma, as he doubted his 
authority to decide questions of title to land, yet he was un- 
willing to allow the dignity of his official station to be lowered 
in the estimation of the simple people around him, by avowing 
a want of Jurisdiction in the premises. He therefore listened 
to the evidence pro and oon^ and having ascertained that the 
claim had not been staked out, he cut the Gordian knot of 
legal uncertainty, by deciding that' the land would be awarded 
to the party who should first arrive on the ground, and stake 
it out. The decision was accepted as being in accordance with 
law, and neither of the men being the owner of a horse, a foot 
race of more than eight miles ensued between them. LbClairb 
being the fleetest runner, succeeded in placing his land marks 
in the presence of witnesses, before the arrival of his panting 
competitor. The latter made no further contest, and LbClairb 
proceeded to pre-empt the tract, and lived upon it for several 
years, and finally died there. This is by no means the only 
instance in which superior rapidity of movement was the means 
of securing a valuable pre-emption, but it is believed to be the 
sole case in the history of the ^'orthwest, in which speed of 
foot was made to decide a legal question in obedience to the 
fiat of a magistrate. 

M188IONABT OPBRATION8. 

Rev. Samuel Pond and Rev. Gideon H. Pond, both still liv- 
ing and highly respected ministers of the gospel in this State, 
came to this region in the spring of 1834, from New £nglaud, 
and established themselves as missionaries with the Lake Cal- 
houn Band. They continued to labor among the Indians for 
many yeai's, and their intimate acquaintance with their lan- 
guage, enabled them, in connection with Rev. Messrs. Riggs 
and Williamson, to reduce it to a system, and in addition to 
other works which were printed, to furnish for publication by 
the Smithsonian Institute, in Washington city, an elaborate 
and complete Dakota Lexicon. Dr. Williamson arrived in 
1835, and Mr. Riggs a year later. They still labor for the 
spiritual benefit of the Indians. They first opened a mission 
at Lac qui Parle, with Mr. Huggins as assistant, who died not 
long since, and whose son, a pious and devoted missionary. 



BEKINISCENCICS BT HON. H. H. 8IBLET. 269 

was killed by the Indians, in 1862, at that station. Messrs. 
Gatin and Denton were sent out by a Swiss society as mis- 
sionaries among the savages, but were recalled many years 
since. Rev. Mr. Hopkins had charge at Traverse des Sioux, 
where he was accidentally drowned in 1851. Mission stations 
were at a later period established by Rev. Mr. Rigos at Yel- 
low Medicine, and by Rev. Mr. Hinman, of the Episcopal 
Church, at the Redwood or Lower Agency, which were contin- 
ued until the expulsion of the Indians from Minnesota. 

Rev. Father Galtieb was the pioneer missionary of the 
Catholic church, having been stationed at Mendota from 1840 
until 1844, when he removed to Prairie du Chien, where 
he died several years ago. He was succeeded by Very 
Reverend Father Ravoux, now Vicar General of the Di- 
ocese of Saint Paul, and a resident of the city. He arrived in 
1841, remained a short time with Father Galtier, at Men- 
dota, and then visited the posts along the Minnesota river. 
He passed two winters at Chaska, then a small trading station, 
laboring with the Indians. He then resumed the position va- 
cated by Father Galtieb, at Mendota, where he resided until 
the decease of Right Rev. Mr. Cretin, Bishop of St. Paul, in 
1857, when he removed to St. Paul. (I was on intimate 
terms with Father Ratoux, and can testify that he was highly 
respected for his purity of character and devotion, and exer- 
cised great influence over whites and Indians.) 

OBOANIZATION OF THE TEBBITORT. 

When the bill for the organization of Minnesota Territory 
was pending in Congress, there was a surprising degree of 
ignorance manifested even by members from the Northwest, 
with reference to the geographical position of the country in 
question. Hon. Joseph Root, of Ohio, made a vehement 
speech against the measure, denouncing as farcical and absurd 
the formation of a temporary government in a hyperborean 
region, where agricultural pursuits were impracticable, and 
where no white man would go unless to cut pine logs. Other 
members took a similar view of the subject. Probably such of 
these wise-acres, as are still in the land of the living, have had 
occasion to modify their opinions somewhat, since that period. 



270 MIICHBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIOH8. 

Enoagh had been ascertained by experiment previous to 
1834, to demonstrate tliat our soil was peculiarly adapted to 
the production of wheat, barley and other small grains, but it 
was deemed very questionable, whether any but the small com 
raised by the Indians would mature. The problem was solved 
by Messrs. Norris and Haskell of Washington county, who 
were the first men to open farms on an extensive scale, and to 
prove that every variety of maize could be successfully cul- 
tivated. 

Messrs. Orahoe Walker and his associates at Marine, and 
John McKusick with his brother Jonathan at Stillwater, were 
the pioneers in the lumbering business which has since assumed 
such gigantic proportions, although Joseph R. Brown is 
believed to have been the first to descend the St. Croix with a 
raft of lumber. 

In 1847, Wisconsin was admitted as a State, with the Saint 
Croix as the north-western boundary, leaving the counties west 
of that stream without a government. The people believed 
they had a right of representation in Congress, the organic act 
of the Territory of Wisconsin not having been expressly re- 
pealed when the State was admitted into the Union. They 
accordingly elected me as delegate to Washington city, in 1848, 
and I was only admitted to a seat, after long and vexatious 
delays. 

When my credentials as Delegate were presented by Hon. 
Jambs Wilson, of New Hampshire, to the House of Represent- 
atives, there was some curiosity manifested by the members to 
see what kind of a person had been elected to represent the 
distant and wild Territory claiming representation in Con- 
gress. I was told by a New England member with whom I 
became subsequently quite intimate, that there was some dis- 
appointment felt when I made my appearance, for it was ex- 
pected that the Delegate from this remote region would make 
his debuty if not in full Indian costume, at least with some pe- 
culiarities of dress and manners, characteristic of the rude and 
semi-civilized people who had sent him to the capitol.^ 



I Were these annalB only to meet the eye of the pioneer, or present popaiation 
of HinneBota« it woold be annecessary to speak of the personal appearance, mental 
or moral attrlbates of General Siblit, where he and they are so well known, bnt. 



RBMINI8CENCK8 BT HON. H. H. 8IBLET. 271 

There were thas in Congress, at the same time, Senators and 
Bepresentatlves Arom the State of Wisconsin, and a delegate 
from the Territory of Wisconsin, a case^ for which there was 
no precedent. The Territory of Minnesota was organized by 
act of Congress, approved March 3d, 1849, the night before 
the adjournment. The curious in such matters will find the 
first appropriation for the support of the territorial govern- 
ment, in a bill entitled, *' A bill for the relief of James Norris 
and for other purposes.*' There was no time to add the item 
to the regular appropriation bills at that late period of the 
session, and the private bill for the benefit of Mr. Norris, 
passed, with the sum for the expenses of Minnesota Territory 
tacked to it as an amendment. 

In the spring of 1849, Grovemor Ramset arrived at St. Paul, 
as did the Judges of the Supreme Court, Messrs. Goodrich, 
Meekbr and Cooper, and the other territorial officers, when 
the new government was duly organized and went into imme- 
diate operation. Parties commenced to form forthwith, and a 
furious political war followed, many particulars of which must 
afford amusement to those yet living, who participated in the 
strife. It seemed as if the whole burden of national affairs had 
suddenly been transferred to the six thousand people, who 
composed the population of the Territory. 

In the course of a canvass for delegate to Congress, an 

as tbey will be perused in after time, and in other lands, and Inasmoch as the ques- 
tion was raised, it may be well to observe that the pioneers of Minnesota were 
jastly prond of the manly bearing, mental qDalities and exemplary character of the 
man of their choice; regarding these a kind of offset for any lack of population, or 
commercial importance that might be urged against their claims to recognition. 
Nor were they visionary. The writer of this note, not then a resident of Minnesota, 
spent a portion of the winter and spring of 1849, at the national capital, and can bear 
witness to the Justness of these expectations. To say that the delegate n*om Min- 
nesota did not suffer by comparison with the members of the body to which the old 
settlers had accredited him, would fall to do Justice to their good taste. Ueuby 
Hastinas Siblst would, by his stately bearing, have attracted ftivorable notice at 
the most refined courts of Europe; his literary contributions to the periodicals of 
90 to 80 years ago, both in his own name and under the non de plums of ** Hal, a Da- 
OOTAB,'' proved him to be a forcible and finished writer, while his letter to Sen- 
ator FooTE, which appeared in the Washington Union, in February, 1860, gave to 
the outside world the first authentic information concerning these regions, and did 
much to attract public attention hither. Of his personal character it wou'd seem 
uimeceesary to speak; above reproach, courtly and kind, he, while leading a singu- 
larly laborious life, yet finds time to identify himself with every good and charitable 
work, and is the staunch and sympathetic ft-iend of the frontiersman in his hour of 
ne«d.— A. G. 



272 MINNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIOHS. 

excited speaker while eolc^zing bis favorite candidate before 
an assembled crowd, as a man of liberal principles, unforta- 
nately mistook the meaning of the word be used, saying he 

was in favor of Mr. because he was '^the greatest libertine 

in the country.'* The proceedings of the legislative bodies 
were characterized at times by the same excitement which 
animated the people generally. The old settlers will recollect, 
that a considerable minority once left the halls of legislation, 
and went on a fishing excursion to prevent the passage of some 
obnoxious bill. It is creditable to all concerned, that the 
absorbing interest felt in these party straggles, only on one 
or two occasion culminated in a resort to personal violence. 
The pistol and the bowie knife were never regarded with favor 
by Minnesotians, and in that particular they proved their 
superiority over the population of most of the frontier States 
and Territories, where these weapons were too often made the 
arbiter in political and personal controversies. 

There was quite a grand celebration of the 4th of July fol- 
lowing the organization of the TeiTitory, in the then village 
of St. Paul. All the dignitaries of the new government, and 
in fact the whole adult male population joined in the procession 
to a grove not far distant, where the exercises were to be con- 
ducted. Everything was man&ged in the most orthodox 
fashion. W. D. Phillips read the Declaration of Independence, 
and Judge Meekbr delivered the oration. One of our citizens 
being asked how he enjoyed the performances, said he regarded 
Phillip's speech as decidedly the best effort of the day. 

St. Paul, St. Anthony, and Stillwater, were the only villages 
of any importance in those days. By a sort of general agree- 
ment, St. Paul was to be the capital, St. Anthony the site of 
the university, and Stillwater the location of the penitentiary, 
and the arrangement was faithfully carried out. 

It was only after the treaties of 1851 opened the vast trans- 
Mississippi region to the whites, that immigration received its 
first great impulse. From that period, the population increased 
with great rapidity. 

morality of the early settlers. 
It has been made a subject of frequent remark, that the 



BSMimSCKNOES BT HON. H. H. 8IBLBT. 278 

settlement of Minnesota has been singularly free ftom 
the disorders and deeds of violence, which hav^ almost 
invariably accompanied the same process in other western 
Territories and States. Crimes of magnitade, especially such 
as involved the destruction of human life, have been so rarely 
committed, that the whole record of Minnesota in that respect, 
may be advantageously compared with that of any State in 
the Union. I attribute this mainly to the fact that Minnesota, 
California and Oregon were settled simultaneously, and that 
the gold fields of the Pacific attracted thither a host of reckless 
adventurers, who would otherwise have found a home among 
us. Thus while that class emigrated to the other side of the 
stony mountains in pursuit of the precious metals, the men 
who had it in view to gain a subsistence by honest labor, 
sought the fertile prairies of Minnesota with their families. It 
is hardly necessary to mention, that while our population is 
many thousands less than it would have been, but for the 
attractions referred to in another quRter, the State has been 
vastly benefited by remaining free from the presence of a 
large number of that description of persons who are popularly 
said to ^' live by their wits." The infusion of such an element^ 
into our population, would have resulted in a rehearsal on an 
extensive scale, of those scenes of sanguinary violence, which 
have disgraced the earlier history of so many of the border 
States. 

PIOKBBB J0TJBNALI8TS. 

Public journalism, which has accomplished so much in ad 
vancing the interests of the Territory and State, was first rep> 
resented by James M. Goodhue, who established the Pioneer^ii 
1849. A few numbers of the Minnesota Register had previous- 
ly been circulated among our citizens, advocating the claims 
of the new Territory to public attention, but these were printed 
in Cincinnati. In many respects, Gtoodhde was admirably 
fitted to conduct a newspaper. He labored earnestly and suc- 
cessfully, while he lived, in behalf of Minnesota. The Chron- 
icle and Register^ under the auspices of Messrs. McLean, 
Owens and Hughes, the Democrat^ owned and edited by D. A. 
Robertson ; the St. Anthony Express^ by Isaac Atwateb ; the 



tTA MINNBSaTA HI8TORI0AL COLLBOTIOKS. 

Minneaotian^ by John P. Owbns, and the Advertiser by Jobbph 
A. Whbblock, were establiBhed in tbe order in wbicb they 
are named. John H. Stsvbns pablisbed the first paper on the 
west of tbe Mississippi, at Glencoe, in McLeod county, called 
the &lencoe Register. It was a model of a local paper, 
abounding in details of interest. All of the joamals men- 
tioned were edited with ability, and their colamns were de- 
voted to the object of attracting immigration to this region, by 
the publication of editorials and other articles demonstrating 
the superiority of the new Territory in an agricultural point of 
view. In fact, taken in the aggregate, the press of this Ter- 
ritory and State, in its earlier and later days, might safely 
challenge a comparison in typographical excellence and intel- 
lectual force, with that of any other of the Western States, and 
Minnesota can never cancel her obligations to her public jour- 
nalists, who, however they differed in other matters, united 
with singular devotion and zeal in pressing the attractions of 
this region upon the public attention, and in advocating its 
material interests, fiut for their labors the State would be 
far behind her present status in population and in wealth. 

MOTlV£S FOB STATB PRIDE. 

It has been my fortune to visit at one time or another, almost 
every part of our widely extended State. The area now com- 
prised in the southern counties was my hunting ground, year 
after year. I have ascended the Minnesota valley to its 
termination, and have roamed along the shores of the magnifi- 
cent lakes of the Kandiyohi region, and those northwest 
towards the Red River. I have traversed the prairies between 
Fort Ridgely and Mankato south to the boundary of Iowa, 
and I have stood by the far-off iron monuments which mark 
the line between Minnesota and the Territory of Dakota, and 
yet to this moment I am unable to decide which section is the 
most beautiful and attractive. Like the individual who finds 
himself surrounded by a bevy of fair maidens, equal in charms 
but of different styles of loveliness, and adjudges the palm to 
the one he looks upon, until his eye rests upon another to be 
dazzled in turn by her attractions, so I, after gazing at the 
scenery in various parts of the State successively, have asked 



BBXIMIflClENCKS BT HON. H. H. 8IBLBT. 275 

myself each time the question, '' Where can a more inviting 
region be found upon the earth." Each landscape has seemed 
to be unapproachable in its perfection and the symmetry of its 
proportions, until another, its peer in all respects, has e^^torted 
the same measure of unqualified admiration. 

Minnesotians are often charged with exaggeration when 
speaking of the advantages of their own State over their sister 
States. It is not to be wondered at that they should manifest 
an honest pride when they point to the position to which she 
has sprung almost as suddenly as the armed Minerva from the 
head of Jove. In 1850, she had a population of 6,000 souls, 
ail told, including some of the settlements now embraced in 
Dakota Territory. In twenty-three years thereafter the num- 
ber approximates, if it does not exceed 600,000. • The last de- 
cade has witnessed the commencement of our railroad system 
until it has expanded into gigantic proportions. Our people 
are the very embodiment of energy and enterprise. We have 
a healthy climate, a soil of surpassing fertility. Our men won 
for themselves and for the State during the late war of the re- 
bellion, a distinction which will last as long as the republic 
exists. Our fair women manifested equal devotion, in submit- 
ting with cheerfulness to the sacrifices demanded of them dur- 
ing the continuance of the fearful contest, and in sparing no 
labor to provide for the comfort of the soldier in the field, or 
sick or wounded in the hospital. The entire record is a glo- 
rious one, which will not pale by comparison with that of any 
other State. 

Nor should we be unmindful of the fact, which affords the 
strongest assurance of the indomitable character of our citi- 
zens, that after the departure to Southern fields of thousands 
of our choicest spirits, the most formidable Indian war known 
in the history of the Northwest burst suddenly and unexpect- 
edly upon our frontier settlements, and that it was closed by 
the utter defeat of the hostile savages, and their capture or 
expulsion from the State, in a little more than one month after 
the first outbreak, by Minnesota men, without any aid from the 
general government, or from a single soldier outside of the 
limits of our own State. Why, then, should we not be pr oud 

of Minnesota and her people ? 
36 



276 MINHESOTA HISTOUOAL OOLLBCnONS. 

CONCLUSION. 

It is scarcely possible for such of my readers, as are not old 
settlers, to appreciate the change made within the last two 
decades in this Territory and State. Even as late as 1850 
there were neither bridges nor ferries, and few common roads 
other than the foot trails of the red man who then asserted his 
ownership of all the country west of the Mississippi except the 
military reservation at Fort Snelling. There was indeed no 
apprehension of danger from the Indians, for they were 
generally friendly, treating white visitors to their camp with 
uniform kindness and hospitality. But otherwise the traveler 
was compelled to endure all of the privations, and at certain 
seasons of the year perils from fire and flood incident to a 
country in its primeval condition. The prairie fires especially 
in those parts of the Territory where the grass was long and dry 
were very much dreaded, for it was difficult to escape from them, 
when they were driven by a strong wind. The old voyageurs were 
frequently thus overtaken, and although loss of human life sel- 
dom resulted, it was not uncommon for a person to sustain per- 
sonal injury, and a loss of animals and other property. In con- 
trasting such a state of things with the present facilities for 
traveUexemption from danger, and the luxuries to be obtained in 
all the inhabited portions of the State, you may be enabled to 
form some faint conception of the amazement with which the 
transformation is regarded by the old settlers. To me, I must 
confess, it seems more like a pleasant dream than a reality. 

The retrospect, however satisfactory and indeed brilliant, in 
view of the rapid advance of the State in population and 
wealth, is not without its sad and melancholy aspects to such 
of the old settlers as yet remain. We miss from our com- 
panionship many a noble specimen of manhood who struggled 
and fought with us for the prosperity of our beloved Minnesota." 
They have gone the way of all the earth, and those of us who 
still live are daily admonished that our course also will soon be 
finished. . It is a source of great comfort, as the shadows of 
death approach to encompass us, to be assured that the des- 
tinies of the commonwealth we have loved so long and so well 
will be left in the hands of a generation competent and deter- 



BBMINISCBNCES BT HON. H. H. 8IBLST. 277 

mined to control them, with the aid of a good Providence in 
the intereBts of morality and religion for the welfare of oar 
children and of the State and nation, and reflectively, of the 
whole hnman family. 
St. Paul, 1878. 



NOTE TO THE FOREGOING. 

The committee on publication will be pardoned for adding to Gen. 
Si bley's valaable and Interesting reminiscences, some personal account 
of bis parentage, early life, civil and military services, etc. Our re- 
quest to Qen. SiBLBT for the foregoing paper included the above, but 
the motives for reserve referred to in the beginning of his article has 
deterred him from complying with that request, we have, therefore, 
anticipated what we deem to be a general wiNh, and have briefly 
sketched some of the leading points of Gen. Sibley's life : 

Solomon Sibley, father of the author, was a prominent pioneer of 
the northwest. He was born at Sutton, Mass., October?, 1769, and 
having chosen law as his profession, removed to Marietta, O., in 1796, 
thence to Clncinoati, O., and ultimately to Detroit in 1797. In 1799 
he was elected to the flrst Territorial Legislature of the Northwest 
Territory, at Cincinnati. Judge Subnet, the historian, states that he 
was among the most talented men in the House. He was elected a 
Delegate to Congress ttom Michigan Territory, in 1820, and Judge of 
the Supreme Court 1824 to 1836. He was also United States Commis- 
sioner, and in company with Hon. Lewis Cass, made a treaty with the 
Indians for most of the territory now included in the peninsula of 
Michigan. He was also, for some time, United States District Attorney. 
He died April 4, 1846, universally lamented. [See Hildreth's "Lives 
of Early Settlers of Ohio," &c.] 

Judge Sibley married Miss Sabah W. Spboat, at Marietta, October, 
1802. Miss Spboat was the daughter of Col. Ebenezeb Spboat, a 
revolutionary soldier, and his wife, formerly a Miss Whipple, daughter 
of Commodore Abbaham Whipple, of the revolutionary navy. She 
was bom at Providence, K. I., January 28, 1782. Her parents and grand 
parents settled in Marietta in 1788, so that her whole life almost, was 
spent on the fh>ntier. She was a woman of unusual personal beauty, 
and rare mental accomplishments, and was, by a wide circle of Mends 
in difliBrent States, greatly beloved and respected. She died at Detroit 
on January 22, 1851. Mrs. Ellbt, in her valuable work, <* Pioneer 
Women of the West," gives a fUll account of the dangers and hard- 



278 MliaiBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIONS. 

ships to which Mrs. Siblet was exposed in the war of 1812, and other 
trying times on the frontier. 

Hbnrt BUstinos Siblet was bom at Detroit February 20, 18 11 . The 
history of the northwest about that time, the perilous condition of the 
frontier, the savage warfare that desolated the region, the siege and 
surrender of Detroit, and the hardships experienced by the whites from 
1810 to 1815, are too well known to need repetition. The Siblet 
family bore their ftill share in those trials. It would almost seem that 
the subject of this sketch was launched into a career destined Arom the 
start to be one of adventure and stirring incidents, repeating the 
eventftil pioneer life of his ancestors. Thus hereditarily predisposed, 
as it might be said, to a life of close contact ¥rith the strange and ro- 
mantic elements tliat have always given such a charm to frontier life 
in the eyes of the courageous and active, his innate disposition 
received a still farther bent Arom the very condition of society in Ills 
boyhood. It was passed in a region fkvorable for field sports, and the 
hardy exploits of the hunter and sailor, where every inhabitant was a 
fireside bard, reciting those wonderftQ epics of '*hair breadth 'scapes," 
and *' accidents by flood and field," perils and feats of the half-mythi- 
cal heroes of the frontier, legends ftdl of poetry and romance, that 
seem never to weary the listener. 

Young Siblet received an academical education in his boyhood, and 
subsequently enjoyed two years private tuition in the classics fh>m 
Rev. Mr. Cadle, a fine scholar. His father had destined him for the 
profession of law, and at about the age of 16, he commenced its study 
in Judge S.'s office. After a year's attention to this, Henrt H became 
convinced that his natural inclinations and tastes would lead him to a 
more active and stirring life, and so informed his father. Judge S. 
very wisely told him if such was the case, to pursue his own wishes 
as to occupation, a decision that gave to Minnesota her honored pio- 
neer, one whose history is so interwoven with its own, that to write 
the one, is almost ipst} facio to record the other. 

About the age of 17, Henrt H. went to Sault Ste Marie, and was 
engaged there in mercantile operations for about a year. In 1829 he 
went to Mackinac, and entered the service of the American Fur Com- 
pany as a clerk. He remained at this post five years. Here he be- 
came acquainted with a number of the prominent pioneers of the great 
Northwest, and ftirther acquired a desire for frontier life. During this 
time he made his entry into official life, being commissioned by Gover- 
nor Geo. B. Porteii, of Michigan Ter., a Justice of the Peace of Mich- 
ilimacinac county. His commission was received really before he was 
of age, and was subsequently executed before Michael Dousman, ftither 
of the late H. L. Dousman. In 1834, Mr. Siblet, then 28 years of age, 
was persuaded by Ramset Crooks and H. L. Dousman to come to what 
is now Minnesota. [See page 194.] ,An account of his arrival is given 
in his own article. Duncan Campbell, one of the Canadians who accom- 
panied him, is still living at Mendota. 



BSXINISCKNGES BT HON. H. H. 8IBLBT. 279 

On May 2d, 184S, Qen. Siblby was married to Miss Sarah J. Steble,. 
at Fort Snelling. Mrs. Sibley died May 21, 1869-— a lady of rare vlr- 
taes and accomplishments, and well fitted to adorn the prominent sta- 
tion in society which she occupied for so many years, in Washington 
City and Minnesota. 

Mr. Sibley held for many years the office of Justice of the Peace for 
Clayton county, Iowa, in which Minnesota west of the Mississippi River 
was then included. His Jurisdiction was coextensive with what now 
forms all of the State west of that river, a portion of Iowa and a large 
part of the present Dakota Territory. Most of the criminal cases oc- 
curring in this vast region during that period were brought before 
him. Prominent among these were the murder of Hays, at St. Paul, 
in 1888, by Phelan, and the alleged murder of young Simpson, 
nephew of the Arctic explorer, in 1840. 

On October 30, 1848, Gen. Sibley was elected by the people of what 
was then considered as *' Wisconsin Territory "—-the residue of the 
old territory of that name left after the State was admitted, outside 
the boundary of the latter— -as their Delegate to Congress. He was 
admitted to a seat after much trouble, [see Collections, vol. I, p. GJ ,] 
and during the session was enabled to secure the passage of a bill or- 
ganizing the Territory of Minnesota, which became a law March 3, 
1849. In the fall of 1849, he was again elected Delegate for two years, 
and again in 1851, for another term. In the fall of 1853 he declined a 
ftirther nomination. 

In 1857, Gen. Sibley served as a member and President of the Dem- 
ocratic branch of the Constitutional Convention, and was soon after 
nominated and elected Governor. Owing to the delay in the admission 
of the State, he was not inaugurated until May 24, 1858. In 1871 
Gen. Sibley also served one term in the House of Representatives, 
and is at the present time a Kegent of the State University and Presi- 
dent of the State Normal Board. 

The foregoing is a brief memorandum of Gen. Sibley's civil services, 
and we desire to add also a short sketch of his military record. 

The Sioux outbreak occurred on August 18, 1862, and on August 19, 
Gen Sibley was appointed by Gov. Ramsey to the command of the 
military expedition, with the rank of Colonel commanding in the field, 
but really with the powers and duties of a General. Arriving at the 
frontier, everything was found in a terrible state. New Ulm and 
other towns had been partly burned, hundreds of persons massacred, 
the country laid waste, and numbers of women and children captive 
in the hands of the brutal savages. Panic reigned everywhere. The 
state authorities were entirely unprepared to meet this outburst of 
savage Airy, which was as unexpected as it was sudden. Arms and 
ammunition were wanting ; there was no government transportation 
on hand ; several thousand of young men had been hurried to Southern 
fields, leaving only a few hundred raw and undisciplined volunteers to 



280 mHNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIOK8. 

cope with the nomeroas, well-armed, and thus far, triumphant enemy. 
Gen. S.'s first object was to protect the most exposed points, until he 
could be ftimished with reinforcements of men, munitions of war and 
rations. The Indians were repulsed at New Ulm by the forces under 
Col. Flandrieau; at Fort Ridgely and at Birch Coolie successAilly, 
and finally completely beaten in the decisive battle of Wood Lake, on 
September 28d, by Gen. Sibley. By good management, strategy, and 
his thorough knowledge of Indian character, Gen. S. was enabled to 
not only effect the release of the white captives, nearly 250 in number, 
but to take prisoners about 2,000 men, women and children of the 
enemy. He then constituted a military commission, with Col. Wm. 
Crooks as President, by which the Indian warriors, to the number of 
more than 400, were tried, 808 condemned to death for murder and 
massacre, and others to various terms of Imprisonment from one to 
ten years, for pillage and robbery. The execution of the condemned 
was prevented by the order of President Lincoln, at the earnest 
solicitation of some Quakers in Pennsylvania, and so-called *< humani- 
tarians " in New England, very much to the disgust and dissatisfletction 
of the people of Minnesota. Finally, Gen. Siblby was ordered by the 
President to execute 88 of the criminals convicted of rape and massacre 
of the whites, which was done on the .21sl of December, 186^ at Man- 
kato, the whole number being hanged on one scaifold. THe remainder of 
the convicted Indians were taken to Davenport in the spring follow- 
ing, where they were kept in confinement for some months. A large 
proportion died of disease, and the survivors eventually released, and 
taken to Fort Thompson, on the Missouri River, where they rejoined 

their families^ \ 

On September 29, 1862, President Lincoln commissioned Col. Sibley 
as a Brigadier General for gallant services in the field. The winter 
was spent in foifming a cordon of posts and garrisons, with a line of 
scouts and patrols across the frontier. A new military department 
was created, embracing Minnesota, Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. 
Gen. Pope was placed in command of this, but he was here in person 
only a few weeks, his headquarters being really in Milwaukee, and the 
management of all military movements in this state was entirely left 
to Gen. Sibley. 

■ Congress having reduced the number of Brigadier Generals,it seemed 
certain that Gen. Sibley's appointment would not be confirmed. The 
Minnesota Legislature passed the following Joint Resolution on March 
5, 1868 : 

Wherxas, We learn with regret that the limitation placed by Congress on the 
number of general officers antliorized to be aopolnted for the volunteer forces, is 
likely to prevent the confirmation of Brigadier General Sibley ; and 

Whereas The good results attending the conduct of the campaign against the 
Sioux Indians last fall- the safe deliverance of the white captives, the surrender of 
so large a number of Indians, the protection assured to the frontier ; all at so small 
a loss of life in military operations, entitled Gen. Siblbt to the promotion so 
promptly bestowed after the victory of Wood Lake, and indicate his peoaliar fitness 
for the command of the approaching campaign against the Sioux ; and 



BEMINISOBNCnS BT HON. H. H. BIBUET. 281 

Wrxbxas. TbeCiilare of Qen. Sxblxt's conflrmation^wonld bow oecasion the en- 
tire loss of nis serrices to the public and the State (Inasmncb ae he holda no other 
commission than that heretofore tendered by the President) andwonld be regarded 
by the troops under his command, and the people of the State generally, as a misfor- 
tune, therefore 

Rsfolffed by the LegUkUure qf the Stats (^ Mifmetoia : 

That we re«pectfblly and urgently ask the President to appoint Brigadier General 
H. H. SiBi«BT, a Brigadier Qeneral of Volunteers, and to assign him to the command 
of the district of Minnesota, for the approaching campaign against the Sioux Indian*. 

Sen. Siblky's name was, however, not confirmed by the Senate, and 
deeming his ¥rithdrawal fh>m the service a serious check to the suc- 
cess of military operations in the Department, the following appeal 
was presented to him : 

Saiht Paul, March 19, 1868. 
7b Gen. H. S. SUiley : 

Dbar Sib: The undersigned beg leave to express their disappointment and re- 
cret at the failure of the Senate to confirm your nomination as Brigadier General. 
But, feeling confident of your re-appointment, we respectfully urge that the general 
welfare and immediate business interests of the State at larjee, demand your accept- 
ance, should the President tender it. In this we are satisfied that we express tne 
Tiews of all classes of our people. At this most critical period, we should deem 
vonr retirement fh>m the field a calamity which would certainly weaken, and possi- 
bly destroy, public confidence, now so happily restored in the border counties, un- 
der your able military administration. Beliering that the wellare of the people of 
Minnesota will outweigh all other considerations, and overcome any personal scru- 
ples which might otherwise prompt yon to decline a re-appointment; and assuring 
you of our confidence and esteem, we subscribe ourselves: 

This document was signed by over 50 of the leading business men 
and firms of the city. Qen. Sibley made the following reply : 

Saiht Paul, March 28, 1868. 

Gixtubmxn:— -I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the document signed 
by so many of the leading men and firms of this city, in which yon urge me not to 
decline u renomination of Brigadier General, if tendered, as you do not doubt it will 
be. Since that wab written, a telegraphic dispatch from the Secretary of War has 
reached me, announcing my reappointment by the President, so that your prognos- 
tications have proved to be correct. 

While I feel duly grateM for the confidence manifested bv you in my management 
of military aflTairs in this District, and for the kind expressions of regard for myself 
personally, it is nevertheless true, tbat I rather dreaded than desired to be placed 
in a position, by the act of the President, where I must promptly accept or decline 
the honorable station to which he has so repeatedly nominated me. It has been 
neither by my suggestion nor at xny solicitation, that I was originally named for the 
post, nor nave I since made any eflrort to retain it, or to secure a confirmation by the 
Senate. Indeed, the deranged state of my private afl'airs, which have been almost 
totally neglected for muny months, apart ttom any other consideration, afibrded me 
a very strong reason against my remaining longer iu the service. 

On the other hand, I recognize the right of the country to its full extent, to call 
upon any of its citizens to perform a public duty, at whatever sacrifice to himself, 
and while I teel too much diflldence in my OM'n abilities to venture to hope that I can 
meet the wishes or expectations of my friends, in a career comparatively so new to 
me, I cannot disregard the general sentiment of my State, as signified by the unani- 
mous resolutions of the Legislature asking for my confirmation, and by the repre- 
sentations of numerous private citizens. I shall therefore dispatch to the military 
authorities at Washington, my respectful acceptance of the position to which the 
President has generously seen fit to re-assign me. 

It would not be proper for me to make known the plans of the contempluted cam- 
palsn against the hostile Sioux. But I can state, without any impropriety, that the 
Major General commanding the Department [Pops] has given me the most cheering 
assurances of support in their prosecution, and manifests a determination to bring 
this war with the savages to a speedy conclusion, by the employment of all the 
means at his disposal. 

The proposed expedition will be a tedious and laborious one to all connected with 
it, but with the aid of the gallant regiments under my command, composed of our 
own citizens, all of whom, ofllcers and soldiers alike, are anxious to take the field, I 
humbly trust that enough will be accomplished during the coming season, to insure 
the frontier against any danger from Indian forays hereafter, and to relieve entirely 
the apprehensions of our citizens." 



282 MIKNBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLKCTIONS. 

The Pioneer of March 28(1, 1863, referring to the matter said : 

We are gratified to announce that on Friday laat, the Preaident re-nominated Oen. 
BiBLXT to the poaition which he haa filled with distiugniahed honor doring the pe- 
riod oi oor frontier difflcnlties. Thin could hardly have been otherwise Hia ap- 
pointment aa Brigadier was conferred on him unsought and unexpectedly, while be 
was on aervice in the Indian country, and in compliment to the mili'iiry abilitiea 
which he had t ere diaplayed. Returning from the field, at the close of the fall cam- 

Eaign, bis administration of affairs in the District of Minnesota, has been marked 
y such practical good judgment, energy and economy, as to call forth the commen- 
dations of the betide of the several mill ary bureaus with which he has had any con- 
nection, and to induce the President, un^uggeated t>y any consideration except his 
own merit, to send his name for conflrmution as a Alajor General. The Jorced re- 
duction of the list of Qenerals, under action of tbe Senate, compelled the President 
to change Oen. Sibiat*s nomination to that of a Brigadier. We regret to Jeam that 
there are doubts as to Oen. Siblbt's acceptance of this re-nomination. We trust 
these doubts are unfounded. The people of the State, without distinction of party, 
or regard to locality, desire his continuance in command. 

Gen. Sibley, in accordance with the unanimons wish expressed, 
accepted the nomination tendered by the President, and proceeded 
with the organization of an expedition to Devil's Lake and vicinity, 
to attack and defeat the Sioox known to be In that section. The ex- 
pedition left Camp Pope June 16, marched into Dakota, had three bat- 
tles with the Indians, besides skirmishes, and advanced as far as the 
Missouri River, driving the hostile bands across that stream. Having 
accomplished its objects and treed the Minnesota frontier Arom all ap- 
prehensions of Indian raids,' it returned to Fort Snelling in lleptember. 

The years 1864 and 1865 were employed in conducting measures for 
the defence of the Arontier, which resulted in completely restoring 
safety to the western counties and depriving the savages of an oppor- 
tunity to molest them. November 29, 1865, Gren. Sibley was appointed 
Brevet Major Greneral, *' for efficient and meritorious services." He 
was relieved Arom thecommandof the District of Minnesota in August, 
1866, by order of the President, and detailed with Major Gen. Curtis, 
United States Volunteers, as members of a mixed civil and military 
commission, to negotiate treaties with the hostile Sioux, and other 
disaffected bands on the Upper Missouri, which duty was successfully 
discharged, treaties having been made at Fort Sully with the Sioux, 
and subsequently ratified by the Senate. 

We have thus endeavored to condense in a few lines, the leading 
points of a long and active career of one so prominently identified with 
the history of the Northwest, that scarcely more than an outline is 
given, of what should occupy almost a volume of itself. 



THE SIOUX OR DAKOTAS. 

A SKETCH OF OUR INTERCOURSE WITH THE DA- 

KOTAHS ON THE MISSOURI RIVER, AND 

SOUTHWEST OF THAT STREAM. 



BY REV. THOS. S. WILLIAMSON, M. D. 



NOTE BT THS COMHITTEB ON PUBLICATION. 

The following^ interestmflr and valuable paper was written for this So- 
ciety, by our late member, Dr. Williaicson, a few months prior to bis 
death, and was at that time ordered to be published in our Collections. 
As the Society was not just then ready to begin the printing of this por- 
tion of the volume, permission was given to some of the journals of our 
State, who had made the request, to copy it, and the paper first saw light 
in that shape. Db. Williamson was a candid and close observer of the 
condition of Indian affairs, while, from his full and minute knowledge of 
Indian history, character, and the policy of our past management of them, 
his views and statements are valuable. His life had been spent in labor- 
ing for their good (as will be found fully narrated in his memoir else- 
where in this volume); and long after he was laid aside from active work, 
he was busy with his pen in appeals to have justice done the Indians, by 
carrying out the treaty obligations in good faith. 



Whatever relates to these Dakotahs is interesting to the 

people of Minnesota, among other reasons, because they are 

descended from the first inhabitants of the Minnesota Valley 

of whom we have any knowledge. The Sioux who inhabited 

this valley forty years ago, said that when their ancestoi*s first 

came to the lower end of this valley, they found the Cheyennes 

in it. Subsequently, perhaps many years, when they came 

and took possession of it, they found the Iowa villages in it, 

and that the earth mounds found in Bloomington and else- 
37 (283) 



284 HU7KE80TA HISTORICAL OOLLECTIOKS. 

where are the remams of the earth-covered lodges of these 
lowas whom they expelled. An examination of these mounds 
indicates that they are the remains of such earth-covered 
lodges as are still occupied by the Mandans and some other 
Indians on the Big Muddy. The Gheyennes were then in 
the upper part of the valley; and near the Yellow Medicine 
a fortification is still plainly visible, which it is said was made 
by them near a good spring of water, and in 1853, when the first 
plowing for the Sioux was done in that region, large quantities 
of muscle shells were turned up near the remains of this 
fortification, indicating that the ground had been cultivated. 
The Sioux who expelled the lowas, a kindred race, made a 
league with the Gheyennes, who, though of a different origin, 
have ever since been counted a part of the Dakota nation. 
Their name is of Dakota origin, signifying ^^speaking a differ- 
ent language,'^ and was given them because all the other Da- 
kotas speak the same language. They spell the name Shai- 
enna in four syllables, which we have abbreviated to two, and 
ought to spell Shyen, as we pronounce it. 

About the time the French traders first came among the 
Sioux, the ancestors of those now beyond the Missouri had 
launched out into the prairie, and gotten their present name, 
Teton^ formerly written Tintonha, dwellers in the prairie. 
The earlier French maps place them on the Minnesota river, 
and southwesterly to the Missouri. Two hundred years ago 
the Shyens probably had their principal residence on the main 
western branch of the Red River of the North, which still re- 
tains their name. Subsequently they went on to the Big Mud- 
dy, one or two of the tributaries of which have their name. 

The people of the United States had little intercourse with 
or knowledge of the Teton^ till the exploring tour of Lewis 
and Glare to the mouth of the Golumbia, about 1805. They 
and the Yanktons were then found occupying both banks of 
the Missouri for a long distance. The knowledge of them 
thus obtained, led to a commerce very profitable to our people 
for many years. 'The officers of the Northwest Fur Gora- 
pany bear testimony to their uniform friendship to the 
Whites. They say that it was the boast of the Sioux in 
every council for thirty-five years that their hands had not 



THE SIOUX OB DAEOTAS. 285 

been stained with the blood of the white man.'^ [Report 
committee on Indian Afiairs, 1876, page 338.] In 1825 our 
government made a treaty with the Teton^ Tankton and 
Yanktonias-Sioux, promising them protection and such bene- 
fits and acts of kindness as may be convenient and the presi- 
dent may think just and proper. The discovery of gold in 
California led to a vast emigration over the plains, which by 
driving off and destroying the game, was injurious to the In- 
dians, and in September, 1851, commissioners of our govern- 
ment called together the Sioux, or Dakotas, Gheyennes, and 
most of the other tribes southwest of the Missouri and east of 
the Rocky Mountains, and at Fort Laramie made a treaty 
with them. The Indians ceded none of their hunting grounds 
at this time, but granted us the right to establish roads and 
military posts, within their limits, and promised to abstain 
from hostilities. Our commissioners promised them protec- 
tion from the commission of all depredations by the people 
of the United States, and $50,000 a year for fifty years. When 
the treaty came before the Senate, they struck out fifty and 
inserted ten years. This amendment was never submitted to 
the Indians. Not long after, gold was found in the mountains 
of Colorado, and our people rushed in and seized on the best 
parts of it, in violation of the treaty; and in February, 1861, at 
Fort Wise, in Kansas, they were asked for and ceded enough 
of their possessions to make two great States of the Union, 
retaining only a small district for themselves. The Sioux 
were not parties to this treaty, but the Gheyennes were. They 
continued peaceable until April, 1864, when, on a false re- 
port, they were attacked in their camp at daylight, many of 
them killed, and their property destroyed, and in November 
following, a camp of about 500 men, women and children, 
who had been persuaded to camp in the neighborhood of Fort 
Lyon, under promise of protection, were surrounded by the 
Colorado cavalry under Colonel Chiylkgton. All he caught 
Were horribly massacred. A war ensued which cost the gov- 
ernment thirty millions of dollars, and brought conflagration 
and death to the border settlements. The utter futility of 
conquering a peace having been demonstrated, peaceful agen- 
cies were resorted to. Generals Harnet, Saistborn and others 



286 kinkbsotjl histobical collecxioi^s. 

were appointed for the purpose, and in October, 1865, suc- 
ceeded in getting the Indians to sign a treaty, when the war 
instantly ceased. 

Previous to the signing of this treaty, gold had been dis- 
covered in Montana, and emigrants and explorers were press- 
ing through every part of the country of the Dakotas west of 
the Missouri, killing and scaring away the game. According- 
ly when they were assembled this year to make a new treaty 
or renew the old one, they remonstrated against this, insist- 
ing that the right to make roads, &c., formerly granted, had 
reference only to the country south of the Platte, and many 
of the chiefs in signing the treaties protested, saying, the 
emigrants must go either south of the Platte, or north of the 
Missouri, for it would be ruinous to them, if it passed where 
they were accustomed to camp in winter, namely, near the 
Black Hills, or the country drained by the Powder river, and 
Big Horn; and a part of their people who occupied the latter 
country, and had not come to treat, would not suffer emi- 
grants to pass through it. They nevertheless abstained from 
hostilities through the following winter, though suffering 
severely, as they believed, in consequence of our encroachments 
on them. The commissioners who made the treaties in 1865, 
in their report say: "Before these routes between the Platte 
and Yellowstone are established, and occupied by our people, 
justice to the Indians and safety to the whites, in our judg- 
ment, require some arrangement in the form of compensation 
to those tribes that now depend on the game of that country 
for clothing and subsistence." See report of Secretary of In- 
terior, 1866, page 172. 

No such arrangement was made. In March, 1866, Gen. 
Pope, commanding the department of the Missouri, issued an 
order to establish military posts near the base of the Big Horn 
Mountains, and on or near the Yellowstone, on the new route 
to Montana. In June, Col. Garrikgton in command of 18th 
Infantry, was ordered to garrison. Forts Reno, Phil. Kearney 
and C. F. Smith, in the country^which the Dakotas refused 
to yield. They protested in vain. In the meantime our civil 
war was finished, and thousands of emigrants rushed through 
this country. In July, our troops having proceeded to occu- 



THE SIOUX OK DAK0TA8. 287 

py the country, war commenced, which culminated on the 
2l8t of December in the destruction of Lieutenant Colonel 
Fbttbrman and his soldiers. The Sioux having thus shown 
their ability, as well aa will, to hold this country, in July fol- 
lowing. Congress determined to endeavor to obtain by peace- 
able means what we were unable to gain by war, and passed an 
act to appoint what has been called the Peace Commissioners, 
which act was approved July 20th, 1867. Men of the high- 
est standing in our nation were appointed on this commission, 
namely: the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and Chairman of 
Senate committee of Indian Affairs, and Generals Shermak, 
Kearney, &c. From their report, raad3 in January, 1868, 
many of the above statements are extracted. This commis- 
sion succeeded in making treaties with some bands of the 
Sioux, but could not induce those organized in active hostili- 
ties to come to the council, namely the Sioux and Cheyennes 
of the North. Red Cloudy then regarded as the principal 
chief, sent them word that his war against the whites was to 
save the Powder River Valley, the only hunting ground left 
his nation from intrusion. That whenever the military gar- 
risons of Fort Phil. Kearney and Fort C. F. Smith were 
withdrawn, the war on his part would cease, and he would 
then meet them in council. The commissioners in their 
report show that garrisons were sustained there at great 
expense, and utterly failed of accomplishing the object for 
which they were established and recommended that the de- 
mands of the Indians be complied with. The next year, in 
accordance with these recommendations, a treaty was made 
and signed by Red Cloudy and the garrisons withdrawn, and 
the war ceased. I have never seen this treaty. The commis- 
sioner of Indian affairs in his report for 1875, page fifth, speak- 
ing of it says : " The treaty of 1868 also stipulated that the 
country north of the North Platte River, in Nebraska, and 
east of the summit of the Big Horn Mountains, in Wyoming, 
should be held and considered unceded Indian territory, and 
no white person or persons should be permitted to settle upon 
or occupy any portion of the same, nor without the consent 
of the Indians first had or obtained, should pass through the 
same.^^ The Sioux have constantly affirmed that this provis- 



288 MnrNKSOTA hibtobigal golleotiok^s. 

ion was applicable to what is called their permanent reserva- 
tion, and all the country west of it to the Yellowstone River, 
including what is called the Powder River country. The 
withdrawal of our garrisons from that country, and other facts 
not necessary to be mentioned here, show that o£Scers of our 
government so understood it. If we had observed this treaty 
as faithfully as the Dakotas, we would have had no war with 
them from that day to this. The treaty was made as early in 
1868, as the Indians could be got together. We find that in 
a report made by Gen. W. S. Habney, (one of the commis- 
sioners who made the treaty) Nov. 23, 1868, then in charge of 
the^Sioux Indians, he says : ^^ I am perfectly satisfied with 
the success which hasf attended the commencement of this 
work, and can unhesitatingly declare that to secare perpetual 
peace with the Sioux Indians it is only necessary to fulfill the 
terms of the treaty made by the Peace Commission.'' This 
Commission in their report to the President of the United 
States, then said : ^^ If the lands of the white man are taken, 
civilization justifies him in resisting the invader. Civilization 
doeslmore than this— it brands him as a coward and a slave, if 
he submits to the wrong. Disregarding this and the articles 
of the treaty which acknowledged the right of the Dakotas 
to hunt south of the North Platte for many years, a jd forbid 
any of our soldiers going north of it, on the unceded lands, 
in June, 1869, General Sheridan, in an o£Scial order, says : 
''AH Indians outside the well-defined limits of their proper 
reservations are under the original and exclusive jurisdiction 
of the military authority, and as a rule will be considered 
hostile." See report of Indian Commission, published in 
appendix of Report of Indian Affairs, pp. 339, 340. 

Treating these Indians as enemies in the unceded territory 
south and west of the reservation which we had solemnly 
promised not to invade, led to some conflicts, but not to war. 
In 1874, General Custeb made an expedition to the Black Hills. 
It was done in plain direct violation of the treaty. The Sioux 
protested strongly as they could in words, declaring that its 
object was stealing their lands. Subsequent events have 
shown that Custer and those with him, were what we call 
spies, who, according to the laws of nations, may be justly put 



THE SIOUX OB DAKOTAS. 289 

to death. So the Indians viewed them, but as he was a great 
military chief, and proclaimed that he came peaceably and 
would do them no harm unless they began the war, they did 
not molest him or any of his followers. As was expected, 
gold was found," and immediately miners rushed in. At first 
the Indians could have easily destroyed these, or have driven 
them away, but the officers of our government advised them 
not to do this, promising that if the Sioux would not molest 
them, the United States army would drive them out, and keep 
them out. For months, parts of our army did make a show 
of doing this, till miners enough had got into the Hills to de- 
fend themselves. Then the military was withdrawn. Presi- 
dent Grant, in apology for this, says our army could not be 
used effectually to keep the miners out, because of mutiny and 
desertions. He accordingly appointed Commisisioners to buy 
or lease the Hills. These Commissioners met the Indians in 
council in September, 1875, and as the Indians were not 
living in the Hills, thought them of little value, and of- 
fered for them much less than the Sioux were willing to sell 
for. Those Black Hills abounded in game, and were the only 
region in the vast territory claimed by more than 20,000 
Dakotas, in which they could sustain themselves for a single 
winter, if our government should cease to give them rations, 
and though much of them is rocky and barren, surveys show 
that without the gold, there is agricultural lands amply suffi- 
cient for the support of a larger population, and also abund- 
ance of wood. It is thought by those best acquainted with 
what has been called their permanent reservation, that there 
is no other portion of it, in which men can live by agriculture. 
Knowing this, it is not strange they set a high value on them. 
Seeing this valuable property wrested from them in plain vio- 
lation of solemn treaties, they were greatly grieved, and some 
of them thinking forbearance no longer a virtue, killed some 
of the intruders. Would not we, in like circumstances, have 
done the same ? A large majority disapproved of these hostile 
deeds, and remained peaceable. Hence those who had com- 
menced hostilities, were ashamed or afraid to return to the 
agencies, and draw rations, and went to join Sitting Bull and 
others in the Powder River country, who had not signed the 



290 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

treaty, choosing to support themselves by hunting, rather 
than depend on our government for rations. But gold 
had been found in the Big Horn Mountains, and General 
Sheridan, while under orders t;o keep the intruders out of the 
Black Hills, which were in the reservation, wrote a letter which 
was published, in which he mentions facts which make it prob- 
able that the gold fields in the Big Horn Mountains are richer 
than those in the Black Hills. The evident design of the let- 
ter was, to divert the miners from the Black Hills to the Big 
Horn Mountains, and thus diminish the labors of our army. 
He probably was ignorant that these mountains were unceded 
territory, and that by solemn treaty we had promised the Indi- 
ans, that no white man, without leave previously obtained, 
should go into the country east of their summit. His letter 
did not arrest the invasion of the Black Hills, but convinced 
many that there was gold in the Big Horn Mountains, some 
of whom tried to get at it, whom the Indians did not spare, 
and acting on the principal of doing to others as they do to 
us. Crazy Horse and some otheis made raids on the ranches 
of Wyoming. This was disapproved of by Sitting Bull and 
most of the roaming Sioux, as well as those at the agencies, 
but how could they, without government or army, restrain 
their people from robbery, when w^, with both, could not 
restrain ours? 

November 9, 1875, E. C. VVatkins, inspector of Indian 
agencies, made complaint to the Indian Bureau, that Sitting 
Bull and other Indians in the unceded territory, who had come 
under his observation in his recent tour, were making raids 
against friendly Indians and the white settlers of Montana. 
He mentions no instance or proof of their raids on the 
whites, and, as the courts of our country have constantly de- 
clared we have no right to punish one Indian for murdering 
another, even when far from their reservations, it is hard to 
see how we are under obligations to make war on them for 
fighting each other in their own country. His whole re- 
port reflects the views of the miners who coveted the gold of 
the Indians. He says the true policy is to send troops 
against them in winter, the sooner the better, and whip 
them into subjection. This was done. December 3d, the 



THE SIOUX OR DAKOTAS, 291 

Secretary of the Interior writes that he had instructed the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs to notify SHting Bull and 
others outside their reservation that they must remove to the 
reservation before the 31st of January, 1876, and if they 
neglect so to do they will be reported to the War Depart- 
ment as hostile Indians. The honorable secretary entirely 
ignored several very important facts, namely: 1. That these 
Sioux were in an unceded country, into which we had solemnly 
promised no white man should go without their permission. 
2. That we had already taken from them the Black Hills, 
the best part of the reservation of which he speaks, and the 
only part on which it was possible to subsist themselves in 
winter. 3. That there were already more Sioux at the agen- 
cies than Congress had made appropriations for feeding there'. 
4. That it was impossible to convey this information to 
said Indians in time for them to comply with the orders. 5. 
That more than 100 miles of bleak, barren prairie lay be- 
tween these Indians and the nearest agencies, and that it was 
impossible for women and children to cross this in winter 
without great suffering, and probable loss of life. 

The Secretary of War and his subordinates were not slow 
in making arrangements to whip these Indians. His report 
to the President as to the origin of the war shows that he 
knew but little about them, and was entirely ignorant of our 
treaty relations with them. If some of the oflScers were bet- 
ter informed, they were bound to obey orders. 

As soon as he could get ready, in February or March, Gen- 
ral G. Crook, an officer of great experience, set out to Pow- 
der River Valley, and struck and destroyed, according to his 
report, the village of Crazy Horse. 

Dr. J. W. Dai^iels, for many years Indian agent and in- 
spector, and one of the commissioners who in 1876 obtained 
from the Indians the cession of the Black Hills, says this vil- 
lage was composed of friendly Indians from the Red Cloud 
Agency, who, owing to the scarcity of provisions there, had 
obtained permission to go on a buffalo hunt, and were return- 
ing loaded with meat and robes. Being surprised, they 
abandoned their baggage and fled for their lives. The bag- 
gage was destroyed and the horses captured. After the 



292 MINNESOTA HISTOBIOAL COLLECTIONS. 

women and children escaped, the men returned and recap- 
tured their ponies. The weather was so bitter cold that Gen- 
, eral Crook returned to Fort Laramie. 

Our army is composed of brave men, as well equipped and 
skillful in making war, as are to be found among civilized 
men. Inspector Watkins had spoken of 1,000 men as su£S- 
cient to whip these savages into subjection. Our able Gen- 
erals Sherman and Sheridan judged more wisely. Prepa- 
rations were made on a large scale. As early in May as pos- 
sible, three columns of our army, as strong as could be main- 
tained in that inhospitable region, werb put in motion from 
the south, northeast, and west, to annihilate Sitting Bull 
and his comrades. He sent word to the Red Cloud Agency 
that if arrangements were made to pay for the Black Hills, 
or vacate them, he would come in and surrender; that he did 
not wish to fight the Big Knives^ but if they .came to fight 
him in his own country he would fight. — [See Letter of W. 
Yandever, Inspector, from Bed Cloud Agency, June, 1876, 
published in Pioneer^Press.'] 

On the 25th of June the gallant Custer, with twelve com- 
panies of cavalry, surprised and nearly surrounded his camp. 
So sudden was the onset, that it was impossible for the 
women and children to save themselves by flight, and a 
Sioux man has never been known to save himself when his 
wife, mother or child was in danger. The result is known. 
Custer and more than 260 of his men were slain, fighting 
bravely. The failure of the Indians' ammunition and the 
timely arrival of General Gibbon's command, alone saved 
Major Reno and the other men of Custer's command, from 
sharing his fate. 

Since the fall . of Custer, Sitting Bull and his associates 
have never had ammunition enough for a regular battle, and 
have avoided fighting whenever it was possible. To supply 
their urgent wants they have captured supply trains and some- 
times ranches, driving off the horses and cattle. If they 
were bloodthirsty, revengeful savages, they might have done 
us vast injury by dispersing and murdering defenseless fami- 
lies on the frontiers of Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska' 
But this they have not done. The avowed object of the war 



THE SIOUX OB DAKOTAS. 293 

on these people was to compel them to come on to the reser- 
vation, the better part of which we have taken from them. 
Since the destruction of Custer, whentheir losses were prob- 
ably greater than ours, many hundreds of them at different 
times attempted to reach this reservation, and thus get out 
of the war. Whenever the trails of such detachments have 
been discovered, our cavalry have hotly pursued them and re- 
lentlesly warred on them. Our officers tell us of overtaking 
these poor, fleeing^ wretches, of firing on them, of capturing 
and destroying their tents and baggage, and capturing their 
ponies, intimating that those who were not killed; escaped 
with nothing except the clothes they had on at the time. 
Thus, when on the inhospitable prairie, far from any place 
where supplies can be obtained, women and children are driv- 
en from their beds and tents in the night, deprived of all 
their food and other property. Since the severe cold of win- 
ter set in, one of these parties on their way to the reservation, 
approached' the camp of General Miles. They were doubt- 
less suffering keenly from cold and hunger, and in no condi- 
tion to fight. Five chiefis went with a flag of truce to make 
known who they werq^ and probably hoping to obtain some 
much needed supplies. The weather was too cold for Gen- 
eral Miles and his officers to be out, and they knew nothing 
of the flag of truce, till the bearers of it were murdered by his 
faithful allies, the Crows, who doubtless did what they 
thought Gen. Miles wished them to do. They were mis- 
taken, for the telegram from which so much of this account 
as relates to him is taken, says he was indignant, not only 
because of the treachery, but because of the information he 
might have got from these chiefs. It seems that the Crows 
soon made ample amends for their mistake, by supplying the 
wanted information; for another telegram, published at the 
same time with the above, says that on the next day, five 
companies of Miles^ command surprised and captured the 
Indian camp, and that it was believed that in their flight 
they had saved scarcely anything except the clothes they 
had on. They were in no condition to fight, and it does not 
appear that they attempted any resistance. Are any of the 
Turkish barbaritia<« worse than this driving off hundreds of 



294 HIKNESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLZOTIONS. 

women and children to perish of cold and banger, after mur- 
dering their protectors while bearing a flag of truce? Dr. J. 
W. Daniels, from whom I get my information about this 
detachment ot Indians, says he was well acquainted with two 
of these murdered chie&, who had long been firm friends of 
the whites, and very useful in preserving order at the Red 
Cloud agency on various occasions, and were there last sum- 
mer and took part in the council with the United States 
Commissioners, and after signing the agreement went to 
bring in the people who were with them, and were on their 
way to the reservation when they were murdered. 

Don. Cameron, in his letter of July the 8th to the Presi- 
dent concerning this war says, ^'The present military opera- 
tions are not against the Sioux nation at all, but against cer- 
tain hostiles of it, who defy the government. No part of 
these operations are on or near the Sioux reservation.'' How 
to reconcile this with th? military coming to the agencies on 
the reservation and taking from those who had not left it, 
but been peaceable all the time, their ponies and guns, thus 
taking from them their only means of supporting themselves, 
I do not see. 

The most numerous, and until recently the most powerful 
tribe of Indians within our borders, are now completely 
crushed. We have taken from most of them everything ex- 
cept life. They are now poor, miserable beggars, unable to 
avenge their wrongs, and they know it. They will never 
again war on us. The negroes never warred on us, yet Jef- 
ferson says, "I tremble when I remember that God is just." 
Can we, who are familiar with the history of our late civil 
war, say this trembling was without cause, or that we have 
no cause to tremble on account of our treatment of the Indi- 
ans? 

St. Peter, March 15, 1877. 



MEMOIR OF REV. S. Y. McMASTERS, D. D. 

BY EARLE S. GOODRICH. 
[Bead at a meeting of the Society, Dec. 13, 1875, and ordered to be printed.] 

The Rev. Dr. Sterling Yancey MoMastbrs, D. D., LL. D., 
whose death occurred at -St, Paul, on the 5th of Novem- 
ber, 1876, was born at Guilford Court House, North Carolina, 
on the 9th of December, 1813. 

The family of Dr. MoMastebs was of Scotch descent. His 
education was completed at the University of North Carolina, 
whence he graduated with distinguished honors. His studies 
after graduation were in the line of medicine, the profession 
of which he intended to adopt; but his religious convictions, 
which had been early awakened and seduously fostered, led 
him to abandon that for the more sacred calling of the min- 
istry. His theological studies, in turn, induced a change of 
religious faith, from Methodism to Episcopalianism; the rea- 
son for which step he set forth in a volume entitled, ^^A 
Methodist in Search of the Church." 

Of his ministerial career in his native state, we have little 
record, beyond the fact that his earnest character and ripe 
scholarship gave him reputation beyond its borders, and oc- 
casioned his call, in 1846, to the rectorship of St. Paul's 
Church, at Alton, Illinois. His success at Alton, was of the 
most gratifying character, and under his ministrations his 
parish became a leading one in Southern Illinois. But his 
scholarly repute and his zeal in educational affairs, caused his 
services to be demanded in other spheres of usefulness, and in 
1851 he accepted a professorship in the Western Military In- 
stitute of Kentucky. The bonds of affection which united 
him with the people of Alton, however, were of those not 
easily broken; and yielding to their solicitations, he resigned 
his professorship at the end of a year, and returned to his 



296 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLECnONS. 

former home. Here he remained until 1858, when he re^ 
moved to Palmyra, Mo., to take the presidency of St. Paul's 
College, located at that place. 

Dr. MgMastbbs was at the head of this college at the 
breaking out of the rebellion; but, though of Southern birth, 
breeding and association, his patriotism was not bounded by 
sectional lines, and by all the means which his profession 
permitted, he opposed the policy of secession. His earnest- 
ness in this respect drew upon him the hatred of the rebels of 
Northern Missouri, and especially of Palmyra, and he was 
marked for their vengeance. Hi^ life was publicly threatened, 
and at last his house was placed under constant surveillance. 
In this emergency, he received word from a friendly railroad 
official that, on a given night and hour, an engine would be 
sent to a point near the town for his rescue. Providentially 
the night named was dark and tempestuous, and he was able 
to elude his enemies and avail himself of the means of escape. 
Resigning the presidency of his college, he repaired to Illi- 
nois, and offered his services to the governor of that state. 
They were accepted, and he was appointed chaplain of the 
27th Illinois Infantry. He remained in that position until 
his failing health compelled his resignation. The disease 
which caused his death was contracted while in that service, 
and thus his name is one more added to the long roll of those 
whose lives have been prematurely sacrificed at the shrine of 
fratricidal strife. His knowledge of medicine enabled him to 
be of special use during his army experience. He was, prob- 
ably, as unornamental a chaplain as belonged to either army, 
federal or confederate; but through the sickly camps and 
crowded hospitals of the southwest, whither his duty called 
him, his medical skill and priestly presence were a boon and 
a benediction; and many who owe their lives to his ministra- 
tions, have wept over his death, as the loss to them of their 
preserver, benefactor and friend. 

In. 1863, Dr. McMastebs came to Minnesota, and located 
at St. Paul, as rector of Christ Church. This position he re- 
tained up to the time of his death. When he located here his 
parish was in feeble condition, in debt, and occupying an in- 
ferior building on Cedar street, between Third and Fourth. 



MEMOIR OF BEY. 8. T. MCMASTEBS, D. D. 297 

Under his ministrations the society rapidly grew in member- 
ship, requiring larger accommodations, and in 1866, the 
stone structure, comer of Fourth and Franklin streets, was 
completed and occupied. In addition to the onerous labor 
of his recorship, Dr. MoMastebs performed the functions of 
Registrar of the Diocese and Rural Dean, positions of trust, 
and placing him next in authority to the Bishop. He also 
represented the diocese in all the general conventions of the 
church that met during his residence here. For ten 
years he was a member of the executive council of the* Min- 
nesota Historical Society, in which institution he took a 
lively interest. In 1871, Governor Horace Austin appointed 
him to the State Normal School Board, a position he re- 
signed in 1873, after accepting that of State Commissioner to 
the Vienna Exposition, for which place he left in June ^ of 
that year. After performing the duties incumbent on him 
there, he extended his journey to the Holy Land, and re- 
mained abroad about six months. During his connection 
with this diocese he regularly lectured before the Divinity 
School at Faribault, and delivered occasional addresses upon 
subjects connected with education. 

Dr. McMasters was a member of the A.', F.'. and A.'. M.^., 
in which he advanced to the thirty-third degree — ^a degree 
held by but few members of the Order in Minnesota, and 
which was conferred upon him for distinguished services to 
the Order. 

Dr. McMasters was twice married ; his second wife, after 
long years of loving, trusting companionship, being left be- 
hind to mourn his loss. His first wife was Miss Catharine 
Montgomery, a native of North Carolina, where the marriage 
took place in 1839. Her death followed in 1847, while her 
husband was in charge of the church at Alton. By this mar- 
riage four children were born, only two of whom are now liv- 
ing — ^a daughter, the wife of Chief Justice Gilfillan, and a 
son. Dr. Jambs Montgomery McMasters, now practicing his 
profession at Sauk Centre, in this State. In 1848 Dr. Mc- 
Masters married for his second wife Miss Jflia Russell 
Bowers, of Alton, III. Two children were born of this mar- 



298 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLKCTIONS. 

riage— Sterling Russell McMasters, residing at St. Paul, 
and a daughtex^who died in infancy. 

Such is a brief sketch of the uneventful incidents in the 
life of one who consecrated great powers to the performance 
of simple duties. With ^very competency of intellect and 
learning and moral worth, he was unambitious, seeking no 
preferment in his church, but modestly willing to work in the 
place whereunto he was called. But, fortunately, great men 
do not need the aids of high official position to make their 
greatfless felt ; for the forces of intellect, like those of nature, 
however silently and unobtrusively they may work, assert 
their supremacy and compel recognition. So this man, clothed 
with the humility, and joyfully content to perform the mean- 
est ministries, of his sacred calling, was not only known 
throughout his communion as a profound theologian, but was 
also recognized by the skilled and wise, of this and other 
countries, as learned in many branches of natural history, and 
as competent, had he so engaged himself, to take rank among 
the specialists in these subjects of scientific research. Yet, in 
these subjects, outside of the profession to which he devoted 
his life, however successful his investigations, he manifested 
little pride. They were not the prime, but only the incidental 
objects of his thought and study. He did not seek knowledge 
for vainglorious display, for the general public knew little of 
his profound erudition. Nor was it for the mere gratification 
of a craving desire ior learning, which, with so many schol- 
ars, debases the most liberal of pursuits into a selfish miserly 
greed. But he was deeply impressed with the dignity and im- 
portance of the vast subjects which his profession required him 
to elucidate, and he sought from all learning within his reach 
whatever could give him clearer light, or enable him to trans- 
mit a clearer light to others. His piety gave wings to his in- 
tellect ; and so, in sermons, and books, and common talk, the 
great theme, which was the substance and soul of all, was 
illustrated and adorned by the learning of all sciences, and 
arts, and lands. 

The intellect of Dr. McMasters was characterized by re- 
markable clearness of conception and rapidity of movement. 
His mental eye had that eagle vision which takes in large ex- 



MEKOIB OF BEY. S. Y.'MCKASTEBS, D. D. 299 

paDses at a glance, yet in the glance discerns the smallest ob- 
jects. This quality enabled him to compass a great amount 
and variety of reading without trespassing upon the time 
which belonged to the duties of his profession. Joined to a 
faculty of assimilation quite as remarkable, the acquisition of 
knowledge with him seemed to come by intuition rather than 
by labor — an act which the vulgar call genius, but which is 
the result, simply, of clearer and more rapid mental insight 
and digestion than is common to the mass of men. But this 
very clearness and rapidity were, in some respects, an injury 
to him. It made composition a labor always irksome , and 
sometimes almost impossible. His ideas outran his pen ; and 
while he has left behind him much to indicate the range and 
strength, there is little to reveal the graces, of his culture. A 
book or two, logical and comprehensive, but studiously un- 
rhetorical; a few pamphlets; some scientific monographs; an 
occasional sermon ; these are all the finished productions which 
remain of a man whose learning was so various and so pro- 
found. Of all the sermons preached during nearly forty years 
of ministerial labor, but few were iully written ; the mass re- 
main only as skeletons, showing the line of argument with 
an occasional illustrative hint. The writer of this sketch, 
often charmed and delighted by sermons which, as delivered, 
seemed in their strength and passion, and wealth of illustra- 
tion, to be almost inspired, has never found on reading the 
manuscripts, more than the barest outline of argument. The 
graces of rhetoric, the moving earnestness of appeal, the ap- 
posite illustrations drawn from all sources of literature and of 
life — these were the extemporaneous decoration, by the artist 
in the pulpit, of the skeleton whieh lay in manuscript before 
him on his desk. In appearance he adhered to the custom of 
reading prepared sermons, common to his church; and no one, 
unaware of his habit, would imagine that, as a rule, more 
than half the spoken sermon was extemporaneous; while his 
readiness was so remarkable, that those who knew his custom 
would fail to distinguish between the portions written and 
unwritten. The vrai^emblance was complete. 
Two qualities of mind and nature, logic and humor, will 
88 



300 MINNESOTA HISTOBICAL COLLECTIONS. 

alwavs be associated with Dr. MoMastebs in the memory of 
those' who knew him. The logic came to him legitimately, 
through his Scotch parentage; the humor was his in spite of 
it. This logical faculty he possessed in an uncommon degree. 
Admitting his premises, there was no gainsaying his conclu- 
sions. His arguments were so clear, connected and complete, 
that, in dispute, the only way to escape defeat was to dissent 
from his first proposition. If you ventured to accompany 
him a part of the way, he carried you along, perforce, by his 
own route, to the journey's end. This logical faculty, 
coupled with the habit, which grows out of it, of seizing hold 
of the vital points ot questions, gave him not only great pow- 
er in the pulpit, but gained him a large influence in the local 
and general conventions of his church. It was the remark of 
an eminent New York divine, that he was always glad to see 
Dr. McMasters rise in general convention to discuss a knot- 
ty question, for his Scotch way of putting things was sure to 
end the controversy. His humor was the spontaneous out- 
growth of a genial, cheerful nature. It oiled the joints of his 
mind, made him the most delightful of companions, and 
enabled him to be a learned man without at the same time 
being a pedant. His fund of mirthful stories was inexhausti- 
ble; and he delighted to illustrate profound truths, or expose 
offensive shams, by apposite anecdotes appreciatingly told. 

In person. Dr. McMasters was of medium height, of a 
compact frame strongly knit together, of an habitually 
thoughtful mein, with a countenance that, while genial and 
kind, was marked by the rugged lines belonging to the race 
from which he sprang. His head was nobly molded and 
posed, his features regular, and his eyes remarkably brilliant, 
changeful and expressive. He was careless of appearances, 
never conspicuously advertising by his dress the character of 
his profession. He held religion to be a practical business, 
and that its teacher should be a practical man; and he so at- 
tired and carried himself that the roughest laborer, whose 
hand he cordially grasped, never thought of querying 
whether there were, or ought to be, two separate heavens — 
one for the prinking priest and anotber for the poor parish- 
ioner. There was nothing in common between him and the 



MEMOIR OF BEY. S. Y. MCMASTERS, D. D. 301 

Bev. Cream Cheese; the school of divinity in which he was 
bred did not employ the system of hot-house culture, and 
produce tender plants, useless in the pulpit, and fit only for 
the sewing circle and the drawing room. He impressed one 
as a manly man, frank, robust, strong, and thoroughly capa- 
ble — giving rise to no perplexing doubts whether the hand 
of the Almighty, or a clerical tailor, had fashioned him. 

It is a fancy we often indulge when contemplating the ele- 
ments of a strong character, to imagine the manner of man 
which might have been wrought out under the influence of 
other circumstances, and in different spheres of action. Ap- 
plying this to the subject of our sketch, we can easily see 
that the clear and logical qualities of his mind, united with 
his habitual industry, might have made of him a great scien- 
tist, or jurist, or statesman. We cannot conceive, however, 
that he could ever have been a successful politician. He 
was too sturdy and honest and uncompromising for that. 
He could not ^^crook the pregnant hinges of the knee that 
thrift might follow fawning.^' His hatred of all duplicity 
and shams was in its intensity almost unclerical. And es- 
pecially so, of the solemn shams. And most especially so, of 
the shams which intruded themselves into his own commun- 
ion. The mummeries which many of the younger and 
weaker of the clergy practice as props to a piety not strong 
enough to stand on its own legs, excited his utter, if not 
always his outspoken, disgust. 

But it is superfluous to speculate on what might have been, 
when the life under review combined so much that was fair 
and lovely and of good report. It is doubtful, after all, if any 
profession or pursuit yields to its votary a more gratifying 
compensation than comes to the faithful minister of Christ. 
Certainly none other compares with it in all the essentials of 
high dignity. The Ambassador of God to Man ! there is no 
other human title so august ; no merely human interests so 
vast as those confided to his care ; for they comprise all that 
is dearest here with all that is most dreaded or desired here- 
after. Apart from its dignities, there is in the performance of 
its lowest offices the reward that follows the comfortable con- 
sciousness of doing good. The clergyman habitually comes 



302 MLNKSSOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

in contact with men under circumstances that reveal the bet- 
ter qualities of their character ; and though he may not shrink 
from scenes of suffering and vice, yet, as a rule, humacn nature 
shows him its fairest side. It is his privilege as well as his 
duty to minister at the altar and the grave, where the bright- 
est hopes of life are born and lie buried ; to bring cheer to the 
chamber of sickness, and consolation to the house of sorrow; to 
so clothe counsel with wisdom that it command assent, and yet 
so temper it with modesty that it do not give offense; to praise 
so discreetly that it shall not engender pride, and admonish so 
gently that it shall leave no sting ; and, however skilled he 
may be in the learning of the schools, to show that he far ex- 
cels in that better knowledge of the heart which cultivates 
the sympathies and affections, and binds all men together in 
the bonds of a charity which "suffereth long, and is kind.^^ 

These, and all the duties of his sacred office, were performed 
by Dr. McMasters with a fall sense of the solemn responsi- 
bility resting upon him. For years, however, under the weak- 
ening effect of an insidious disease, these duties tasked his 
body beyond its powers. Yet few of those who saw him going 
about doing good, knew that his sufferings were greater than 
the afflictions of those to whom he ministered. But the stem 
will was superior to bodily infirmity, and there were no signs 
in the cheerful smile and cordial manner which sprang from 
the tender heart of the loving pastor, of the disease which 
racked his body and agonized his brain. In this way the last 
five years of the good doctor's life were years of such sacrifice 
as few men are compelled or permitted to live ; and they re- 
vealed that rarest heroism which sinks self in duty, and out 
of the ills and sufferings of life brings patience and cheer, and 
all the gentle ministries of charity and love. 

At last his disease produced a suffering so continuous and 
acute, that a council of physicians decided upon a dangerous 
operation as affording the only hope of prolonging his life, or 
rendering it endurable. This, though skillfully performed,^ 
did not avail, for years of suffering had too far reduced his 
strength, and he survived the torturing surgery for a few days 
only. But these few days were mercifully passed, for the 
greater part, in happy unconsciousness of the agony which 



MEMOIR OF REV. S. T. MCMASTERS, D. D. 303 

closed a life that, far too short, was long enough extended to 
develop every strong and generous quality of mind and heart, 
and to present us a grandly modeled character, fully rounded, 
finished and complete. 
Saint Paul, Dec, 11, 1875. 



TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF REV. 

JOHN MATTOCKS. 

BY SEVERAL OF HIS ASSOCIATES. 

[I. FROM A MEBIOIR PUBLISHED IN THE ST. PAUL DAILY DISPATCH, 
NOV. 13, 1876, CONTRIBUTED BY J. F. WILLIAMS.] 

Rev. John Mattocks was bom at Peacham, Vfc., July 14, 
1814. He was a son of ex-Gov. John Mattocks, a de- 
scendant of one of the earliest settlers in New England, the 
Mattocks ancestor haying arrived in Boston from England, 
about 1630. He graduated at Middlebury College, in bis 
native state, in 1832, and first adopted the profession of law, 
which hp studied, and was admitted to practice. But at this 
time, being powerfully impressed with religious convictions, 
he determined to enter the ministry, instead, and for that pur- 
pose studied theology with the celebrated Dr. Bemak, of 
Troy, N. Y., and in 1838, graduated from the Theological De- 
partment of Yale College. 

He soon after entered the work of the ministry as pastor of 
the Presbyterian Church at Keeseville, N. Y. He served his 
congregation for nearly 18 years, and until 1856, when he 
was called by the First Presbyterian Church, of St. Paul, as 
their pastor. Hon. George L. Becker, one of the pioneer 
members of this church, first set on foot the movement 
which led to the call of Mr. Mattocks, Mr. B. having known 
the deceased at Eeeseville. 

Mr. Mattocks and family arrived here in August, 1856, 
and he commenced his labors as pastor of the church named. 
One after another of the (Protestant) clergymen who were then 
in active service in the pulpits of St. Paul, have died or resigned, 
and at his death he was the senior pastor of St. Paul, — ^his 



TRIBUTES TO THE MEMOBY OF RET. JOHN MATTOCKS. 305 

paRtorate of nineteen years being, for a western city, one of 
much more tha^i usual length. 

Mr. Mattocks was early identified with every good move- 
ment and cause in our city. He gave much attention to ed- 
ucational matters, and in March, 1860, (Rev. £. D. Neill 
having resigned) he was elected Secretary of the Board of 
Education, and ex officio Superintendent of the Public 
Schools of the city. He filled this station with ability for 
over ten years, until our school system had extended and 
grown to such proportions as to demand the entire time of 
some official, and he resigned the post into other hands. 
During his term as Superintendent, he performed a vast 
amount of labor in organizing, controlling and directing our 
schools, at greatly inadequate compensation. The hundreds, 
or thousands, more properly, who have had business with him 
on school matters during that term, will remember his cour- 
tesy to all, his patience in settling and smoothing over all 
difficulties which were continually arising betwe-n parents 
and pupils, and teachers, his tact and rare good judgment in 
settling disagreements and vexed questions in the Board, his 
fidelity and earnestness in carrying along such an important 
and cherished system as our public schools had become during 
his term. The pupils of our city loved and revered Mr. Mat- 
tocks as perhaps no one in that relation will ever be again. 
His name was a household word, and his influence over them 
was unbounded and salutary. The history of our public 
schools, when written, must do full justice to these careful, 
conscientious, and faithful labors of Rev. John Mattocks, 
for more than one decade, during their formative period. 

The literary and scientific institutions of our city have also 
lost in his death, one of their most active supporters. Mr. 
Mattocks had strong antiquarian and scientific tastes. He 
was one of the oldest (active) members of the Minnesota His- 
torical Society, having been a member since 1856, and one of 
the Executive Council since 1864, and was also President one 
year. He was a faithful and punctual worker for its success, 
and his experience and judgment in all literary or historical, 
and business matters coming before it, made him one of its 
most prominent and influential members. In his death the 



306 MD^NESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

society has sustained a loss which they must feel keenly — 
and, indeed, is almost irreparable, following so closely, too, 
after the loss of Rev. Dr, McMasters. And here it is worthy 
of remark that Mr. Mattocks formally announced to the so- 
ciety, at its meeting on Monday night, the death of that 
gentleman, his associate and co-laborer in its ranks for many 
years, in remarks so appropriate, so well chosen, and so touch- 
ing, that the writer has seldom, if ever, listened to any eulogy 
more complete or so fitly pronounced; and could the language 
used be now copied, it would most accurately and justly 
describe the speaker^s own services and virtues. Mr. Mat- 
tocks had a rare natural gift of good taste and judgment in 
such matters. It was known to his friends that he could, on 
any occasion like the above, state a subject more neatly, im- 
pressively, and clearly, than falls to the lot of but few, even, 
of experienced speakers. He always said, (as was written of 
another), **not a word too much, nor too little, and with the 
right word in the right place," fitly chosen and weighed, and 
with no afiected ornateness of style, and no undue sentimen- 
tality. Perhaps one of the leading mental traits of Mr. Mat- 
tocks was his remarkable good judgment and discretion on 
all subjects. People sought his advice on every possible 
matter, out of his profession, literary, domestic, educational, 
sanitary, scientific, etc., and from his intimate knowledge 
of human character, and the human heart, and of *^the fit- 
ness of things," he never failed to give to all thus seeking 
his aid, valuable counsel. 

He was also an active member of the St. Paul Academy of 
Natural Sciences, and has given several lectures before it, on 
the subject of geology, in which he was well informed and 
skilled. He was also an active member of several other simi- 
lar societies. 

His cheerfulness was another trait worthy of mention, and 
one which made his society and conversation always so ac- 
ceptable to his friends. He always looked on the "bright 
side" of every event, and seemed more hopeful even in times 
of disaster, than others. He would often speak of the amus- 
ing and funny points Of any subject, in a manner evincing 
a keen sense of wit. 



TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF REV. JOHN MATTOCKS, 307 

As a pulpit speaker, his discourses always avoided the sen- 
sational or ornate. They were plain, practical, and earnest 
enforcements of the truth of religion, and the duties of life, 
and always carefully prepared. 

Mr. Mattocks possessed mental abilities of no common 
order. He was a close student, and careful observer of all 
subjects in which he took an interest. Had he devoted him- 
self to the profession he first chose, and for which he was so 
well fitted by his mental endowments, he would have won 
eminence and wealth. But his convictions of duty led him 
to devote his life and abilities for the good and welfare of 
others, rather than himself, and now, when his life's labors 
have been suddenly ended, thousands will bless the memory 
of one who sacrificed the assurance of wealth and fame, for 
their spiritual good. The life of a clergyman is one of hard 
labor and personal sacrifice — too often illy rewarded, and 
sometimes unappreciated at the time. But beyond this life, 
and after life's labors have closed, the faithful pastor receives 
the real reward of his loving toil. In how many families of 
our city must the name of Mr. Mattocks be always revered? 
Of how many family histories does it form an honored 
part? The baptismal record, the nuptial vow, the funeral ser- 
mon, — events in the record of every family — these will bear 
his name to other generations of many a household of our 
State, to-day saddened with grief at the news of his death. 



II. REMARKS BY HON. HEXRY H. SIBLEY, AT A MEETING OF THE 

SOCIETY, DEC. 13, 1875. 



Mr. President : It becomes my sad duty, as chairman of 
the Committee on Obituaries, to announce officially the death 
of the Rev. Johk Mattocks, which occurred since the last 
monthly meeting of this Board. He departed this life on the 
13th day of November, 1875, at half-past one o'clock a. m. 

The loss to the Society occasioned by the unexpected demise 
of that good man, cannot be over-estimated. He was, as you 



308 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLKCTIONS. 

are aware, one of the most able, estimable and valuable of its 
members. 

Mr. Mattocks was born in Peacham, in the State of Ver- 
mont, in the year 1814, his lather, Hon. Jouir Mattocks, 
being at the time, goyemor of the state. He graduated at 
Middlebury College in 1832, and thereafter commenced the 
study of the law in his father's office. Subsequently he re- 
moved to Troy, in the State of New York, where he became 
so profoundly impressed with the truths of the gospel, that 
he resolved to devote his life to the ministry. In accordance 
with this determination he studied theology with Dr. Bemak 
of that city, and he graduated from the theological depart- 
ment of Yale College in 1838. He was installed pastor of the 
Presbyterian church in Keeseville, Clinton county, N. Y., and 
continued in that position for eighteen years, when he re- 
moved to this city in August, 1856; was called to the pastoral 
charge of the First Presbyterian church, which he retained 
until his death. Mr. Mattooks was elected a member of the 
Board of Education in this city in 1859, served in that capacity, 
and as secretary of the Board, and ex officio superintendent 
of the public schools, for a period of thirteen years. 

Such is a brief sketch of the career ot the Rev. JoHi^ Mat- 
tocks, but how utterly it fails to convey any adequate con- 
ception of the character of the man, of his devotion to relig- 
ious principle, of his labors in the cause of his Master, and of 
his love to his fellow-men, without distinction of race or creed. 
Entirely averse to ostentation or parade, he went about doing 
good, and many bruised and broken hearts received from his 
lips that consolation which cometh alone from on high. He 
was probably more extensively known than any other relig- 
ious teacher in this city, his long residence, his genial temper, 
and his position as superintendent of schools for so many 
years, having brought him into personal contact with all 
classes of our population. His charity knew no bounds, 
for he devoted a large portion of his slender resources to 
the poor and needy. He was a humble christian, with no 
tinge of the pharisee in his composition, and so far from 
being a bigot, he was catholic and tolerant in his views, albeit 
strongly attached to the denomination to which he belonged. 



TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF RET. JOHK MA.TTOCKS. 309 

In fact, howerer others might disagree with him, he impressed 
every one with a conviction of his own sincerity. He was so 
well acquainted with human nature in all its phases, that he he- 
came all things to all men, so that he could win them to Christ. 
He felt that to be his mission upon the earth, and in his daily 
walk and conversation he manifested his devotedness to that 
object. His religion was not of the emotional kind, but his 
discourses from the pulpit were impressive, logical and con- 
vincing. He loved to dwell upon the abundant mercies of 
Our Heavenly Father, and to draw men to repentance by con- 
siderations of love to Him, rather than by the terrors of the 
law and the slavish fear of punishment. He took a deep in- 
terest in the revival movements of Messrs. Whittle and Bliss, 
being a constant attendant at their meetings, and a partici- 
pant in the exercises. 

The public services rendered by Mr. Mattocks, while super- 
intendent of public schools for a long series of years, are well 
known and appreciated by this community. He contributed 
largely to the efficiency of these institutions, which have as- 
sumed a high rank among the educational agencies of the 
State. Having himself enjoyed the privileges of a full col- 
legiate course, which he had supplemented with studies of a 
diversified character, he was eminently fitted to supervise the 
system of instruction in the schools, and to give them a strong 
impetus in the right direction. And so kind and gentle, and 
withal firm, was he in the discharge of his duties, that teachers 
and pupils alike revered and loved him. 

The tender and touching tribute paid by Mr. Mattocks, at 
the last monthly meeting of the Society, and but a few days 
before his own death, to the memory of his co-laborer, Rev. 
Dr. McMasters, will be long remembered by those who were 
present on that occasion. 

It was my good fortune to become acquainted with Mr. 
Mattocks very soon after his advent to this city, and that 
acquaintance ripened into a friendship which was uninter- 
rupted to the end of his life. I am happy to be afforded an 
opportunity, personally, to testify to his tenderness as a hus- 
band and father, his worth as a citizen, and his fidelity as a 
minister of Christ. He was called away suddenly while in 



310 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

the possession of all his faculties, and in the vigor of mature 
manhood, before his force was diminished or his natural 
strength abated. It was, doubtless, the mode of death he 
would have selected if left to his own volition, for he was 
always mindiiil of the injunction of his Master, " Be ye also 
ready." He was saved from the tortures of a lingering diseasei 
and the stroke which, in a few short hours, deprived him of 
life, was to him a crowning mercy, for it ushered him into the 
haven ** where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary 
are at rest." 

To our deceased friend may be appropriately applied the 
words of the poet, inscribed originally to the memory of the 
old Scotch covenanter, who had been for forty years the faith- 
ful pastor of his congregation — 

" But In his duty prompt at every call, 
He watcli'd and wept, he pray'd and felt for all ; 
And' as a bird each fond endearment tries 
To tempt its new fledg*d offspring to the skies, 
He tried each art, reprov'd each dull delay, 
Allur'd to brighter worlds, and led the loay," 



in. REMARKS BY HON. JOHN B. SANBORN, AT A MEETING OF THE 

SOCIETY, DEC. 13, 1875, ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 

DEATH OF REV. JOHN MATTOCKS. 



It may seem improper for the youngest member of the 
Board to utter words of eulogy upon our oldest and most val- 
uable member, deceased. 

But more than fifteen years have passed since we were inti- 
mate friends. From the Sunday when he preached his first 
sermon in Saint Paul, to the day of his death, his example, 
not less than his words, have been a constant guide and light 
through many of the dark scenes and periods of life, and I 
should do violence to my own feelings, if I did not utter a 
single word in commemoration of his virtues. 

His life and example were such that all may study and fol- 
low them with profit. 



TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF REV. JOHN" MATTOCKS. 311 

He lived, as near as man may, a life of righteousness from 
righteous motives, and thereby complied with the highest 
moral code of any school. He pointed the moral of the great 
events of the world by the light of revealed religion, and his 
faith that all that seemed dark and inscrutable now, would, 
in the brighter light yet to be revealed, be plain and easily 
understood, was firm and unwavering. 

He was a bold man, and dared to discuss from his pulpit all 
questions pertaining to the welfare of society or the church, 
with frankness and decision. His voice never gave forth any 
uncertain sound. The conservative tendency of his mind was 
too great for the accomplishment of the largest amount of 
good; with his mental and moral powers. But on great occa- 
sions this conservatism was all thrown aside, and he would 
become rs decided and impetuous as the most thoughtless. 
Previous to our late war he had favored a most conservative 
course towards the south. But the sermon that he preached 
the Sunday after the attack upon forts Moultrie and Sumpter, 
was the most decidedly patriotic and national of any of that 
period, and is no doubt still fresh in the minds of all who 
heard it. He said blood must necessarily be shed now, to save 
oceans of blood that must otherwise be shed by coming gen- 
erations, in the never ending strife that will follow the disso- 
lution of the Union. He left no one in doubt as to what his 
duty was in the impending struggle, and he gave direction to 
the views o^ many, by his remarks on this and similar occa- ^ 
sions. 

No man ever lived who had a clearer perception of the ''fit- 
ness of things." He was always in the right place. He en- 
tered into every occasion and every condition. He poured 
consolation into the hearts of mourners, with the same ease 
that he repressed and subdued boisterous or improper mirth, 
and was equally adapted to the festivities of the wedding altar, 
and solemnities of the funeral service. 

He possessed large and varied learning, united to one of 
GoD^s greatest gifts, sound, practical common sense. Ideas 
were his delight, while words without them were his disgust; 
and in his judgment the greatest attainment of literature was 
the expression of ideas in the pleasantest and most simple 



312 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

manner. He advanced far into the mysteries of many sciences. 
Geology and astronomy were his delight, and in everything he 
saw constantly the handiwork of God. 

Consistent and true in every relation of life, without osten- 
tation and without guile, he consecrated all his attainments 
and all his powers to the welfare of man and the glory of God. 
Let not his example nor his teachings be forgotten. 



IV. LETTER FROM RT. REV. JOHN IRELAND, D. D. COADJUTOR BISHOP 

OF ST. PAUL, PUBLISHED IN THE "FREEMAN'S 

JOURNAI.," MAY 6, 1876. 



St. Paul, March 30, 1876. 
John Mattocks, Esq., Chicago: 

My Dear Sir: — I regret that pressing and unusual occupa- 
tions have prevented me from expressing to you before now, 
my sentiments of deep respect, for the memory of your father. 
Rev. John Mattocks, and of heartfelt sympathy for his family 
on the occasion of his lamented demise. I trust I will be 
allowed, even at this late hour, to add a word of mine to the 
many testimonials already given in favor of the sini2:ular 
worth of one whose friendship, during nis lifetime, I very 
% highly prized. 

My acquaintance with Rev. Mr. Mattocks dates back some 
twelve years. During this period of time, one purpose or 
another frequently brought us together, and each meeting 
but increased the esteem which, from the first, I deemed it 
my duty to award him. His was a most noble nature — kind, 
affable and generous. I do not believe he was at any time 
capable of a harsh thought, or of a word that he could pre- 
sume would wound the most sensitive soul. He was ever 
ready to do favors, to afford pleasure to others. The poor 
had reason to venerate his name, and, what is much to his 
praise, no ostentation accompanied or followed his good deeds. 
They were done as a matter of course. His mind was richly 
stored. The questions were few upon which he was not well 



TRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY OF REV. JOHK MATTOCKS, 313 

informed. His words, too, in conversation, or assemblies, in 
which he took part, indicated a man of thought and reflec- 
tion. He had mastered the subject of his studies. He was 
free, in a remarkable degree, from all prejudices, or special bias 
of mind capable of warping his judgment in his estimate of 
men and things. He was uplifted far above sectarian narrow 
mindedness. While he proved himself most faithful, as I 
always heard, to the duties of his particular profession, his 
mind and heart could ever go abroad of the circle of his min- 
isterial ofiBce, and sympathize with his fellow men of all clas- 
ses, without legard to church or national differences. In a 
world where men so often labor to narrow down to them- 
selves and to a few around them, their thoughts and feelings, 
it was most refreshing to come in contact with the man of the 
type of Rev. Johk Mattocks, He was very frank and out- 
spoken. You were always sure that there was no second 
thought lurking back of his word to you. Few clergymen 
become so universally acquainted in a community, as Rev. 
Mr. Mattocks was in St. Paul. Our citizens, of every class 
and profession, seemed to know him familiarly. I have never 
found one who was his enemy, or would not speak kindly of 
him, whenever his name would be mentioned. The universal 
regret expressed in our city when his death was made known, 
was the best tribute that could be rendered to his memory. 

All felt that a good man had departed, who had been an 
honor to the city, and whom they fain would have kept with 
them for many long years. Men like Lim are too few in num- 
ber. It would be a better, a kindlier world, were we to meet 
them oftener in the path of life. The sentiments which 
I have had towards Rev. Mr. Mattocks, I beg leave to ex- 
tend to his children, with whom I sincerely condole in their 
present grief. ^Most respectfully your friend, 

JOHN IRELAND, 
Co-Adjutor Bishop, etc. 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF Hon. WIL- 
LIS A. GORMAN. 



COMPILED FROM OBITUARY NOTICES IN THE ST. PAUL 

JOURNALS. 



[Ex-GoY. W. A. GORMAN died at his residence iu St. Paul, May aotb, 1876. at 
2 o'clock, p. m., after a brief illness.] 

Willis Arnold Gorman, only son of David L. and Eliza- 
beth Gorman, and one of tveo children, was born on the 12th 
day of January, 1816, near Flemingsburgh, in the county of 
Fleming, Kentucky. He received a thorough primary and 
collegiate education, and early applied himself to the study 
of the law. 

At the age of twenty he was admitted to the bar, and in 
August, 1835, removed to Bloomington, Indiana, where he 
began the practice of his profession. Without money or 
friends, Mr. Gorman here encountered many difficulties in 
the way of his professional advancement, which only an in- 
domitable energy could surmount. He made his debut at the 
Monroe county bar within a few weeks of his arrival at Bloom- 
ington, in the defense of one Polly, charged with murder. 
Polly was guilty, the crime having been witnessed by many 
citizens, but Mr. Gorman succeeded in obtaining his acquittiskl 
before the jury. This at once made him |y[)pular. 

In January, 1836, he married Martha Stone, daughter of 
Ellis Stone, a much respected citizen of Monroe county. 

His natural ability and great popularity, induced his friends 
to urge him to a public career, and when but twenty-three 
years old, he was elected to represent his county in the State 
legislature, which position he filled, with honor to himself 
and satisfaction to his constituents, for five or six terms, and 



LIFE OF HON. W. A. GOHHAN. 315 

until the breaking out of the Mexican war. Then Mr. Gob- 
man was among the first to ofiEer his services to his coantry, 
which he did by volunteering as a private^ in a Bloomington 
company, which was to be attached to the ** Third Indiana 
Regiment/^ In June, 1846, the regiment was mustered into 
service at New Albany, for one year. Before embarking for 
the seat of war, an election of officers was held, and James H. 
Lane (since U. S. Senator from Kansas), w&s chosen Colonel, 
and Mr. Gosman, Major. 

This regiment rendered signal service during the first 
yearns campaign in Mexico, and achieved particular distinc- 
tion on the field of Buena Vista. Major Gorman had the 
honor of bringing on this battle, as under order of General 
Taylor, he, with his command of five hundred riflemen, made 
the assault upon the enemy's flank which opened the engage- 
ment. In this fight every fourth man in Gorman's command 
fell. He received the compliments of his superior officers for 
the bravery, coolness and tact exhibited bj him in this bloody 
conflict. During the battle his horse was shot, and fell, with 
his rider, into a deep ravine; but, although the Major was 
severely injured by this fall (from the effects of which he 
never fully recovered), he kept command of his battalion until 
the enemy fled. 

In May, 184:7, its term of enlistment having expired, the 
regiment returned home. Immediately Major Gorman began 
the organization of the " Fourth Indiana Regiment," of which 
he was unanimously elected Colonel. This regiment first 
participated in battle at the capture of Humantala, and was 
the first to plant the American flag over the city. The regi- 
ment afterwards participated in a number of battles, among 
which were "Atilixco," "Puebla," "Tlascala," and "El Pinal." 

In August, 1849, after his return from Mexico, Col. Gorman 
was chosen to represent his district in Congress, which posi- 
tion he filled for two terms. While in Congress he was dis- 
tinguished for his readiness and versatility in debate. At 
that time the Senate had among its members men famous in 
the history of our country, such as Daniel Webster, Thomas H, 
Benton, Lewis Cass, Daniel S. Dickinson, John C. Calhoun, 
99 



316 lOKKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Salmon P. Chasb, and others of the great men of those days, 
while in the body of which he was a member, there were 
many who had already, or since have, inscribed their names 
on the brightest pages of the recorded events of the times. 
Then the great question agitating the public mind was that 
of slavery, the agitation of which dates back to 1833, and 
which finally culminated in the great civil war, in which he 
later bore so conspicuous a part. In these discussions, and 
others coming before the House, Col. Gorman early took an 
active part, distinguishing himself for the clearness of his 
views, and the force and earnestness with which they were 
advanced. In 1851, Col. Gorman was re-elected to Congress 
from his district, thus serving four years in that body. 

When Franklin Piercb became President in 1853, he ap- 
pointed Colonel Gorman, Governor of the then Territory of 
Minnesota, to assume the position of which, he reached St. 
Paul May 13th, taking possession of the office two days fol- 
lowing, the 15th, soon thereafter announcing the following 
appointments : Socrates Nelson, Auditor; Lafayette 
Emmett, Attorney General; George W. Presoott, Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction; Robt. A. Smith, State Libra- 
rian and Private Secretary; Roswbll P. Russell, Treasurer; 
S. B. LowRY, Adjutant General; Andrew J. Whitney, Clerk 
of the Supreme Court. Gifted with a firm and strikingly 
handsome person, with an impressive manner, with great 
natural endowments as an orator, and with much force and 
energy of character, he at once took a leading part in the 
politics of the State. 

It was during his administration that the celebrated land 
question came up, and the Governor took a firm stand for 
what he considered the interests of the people. He recom- 
mended, in the distribution of the lands among the railroads, 
the state should receive at least three per cent of the gross 
earnings of the roads in lieu of general taxation. Over this 
question a bitter opposition was raised against him. The first 
bill introduced was to grant land to the Northwestern rail- 
road company. This he vetoed, because it did not secure to 
the State such a bonus, in lieu of taxation, as he thought the 
State should have. He was firmly resolved to abide by his 



■ LIFE OF HON. W. A. GOEMAK. 317 

decision, and a compromise was finally effected. It is to his 
exertions, therefore, that may be attributed in a great, meas- 
ure, the present income of three per cent upon all the land 
grants in the State. 

It was during this contest that an incident occurred, illus- 
trative of his strict integrity and his utter abhorrence of any- 
thing approaching a bribe. Seated in the Govemor^s office 
one day, a fine appearing, well dressed man of the world, 
was ushered in. After a few minutes spent in talk of a gen- 
eral nature, the visitor directed the conversation to the all- 
absorbing railroad bill, and finally, after much beating about 
the bush, he managed to convey to the Governor the proffer 
of $30,000 ii he would withdraw his opposition to the measure 
of the railroad men. Without a moment^s hesitation. Gen- 
eral GoBMAK jumped to his feet, and with a voice that rang 
through the room as the blast of a bugle, while his eyes and 
every feature of his face expressed the utmost scorn, and in 
language more forcible than polite, he ordered his visitor out 
of the room before he broke every bone in his body. Speak- 
ing of this incident in later years, the visitor was wont to re- 
mark, that " Governor Gorman was a very unhealthy person 
to approach with an offer of a bribe.*^ 

Another characteristic incident is told in connection with 
the late J. Ross Browne. During President Pierce's admin- 
istration, Mr. Browne was sent out to examine and report upon 
affairs in the various territorial governments. Among tho^e 
visited, was Governor Gorman. At that time territorial gov- 
ernors were the custodians of Indian funds. Then the money 
of the country was specie, silver and gold, of all denomina- 
tions, ranging from the silver five cent piece to the twenty 
dollar gold piece. Beaching St. Paul, Mr. Browiste soon 
thereafter called upon Governor Gorman. As delicately as 
possible he made known the object of his visit, desiring to be 
shown the Govemor^s account of receipts and disbursements 
and the amount of funds on hand. The mere doubt or fear 
expressed in the sending of such an agent of the government, 
that he was not faithfully discharging his trust, aroused the 
ire of the Governor, and he shouted out, his voice trelnbling 
with illy suppressed indignation: " What ! do you or the 



318 KINNBSOTA HI8TORI0AL COLLECTIONS. 

governmeDt take me for a thief ?'' Mr. Brownb ex- 
plained, and finally the examination was commenced. The 
books were gone over and the receipts and disbursements care- 
fully noted. Then the counting of the money was com- 
menced. After going through with two or three bags, and find- 
ing the amoimts corresponding with the marks on the outside, 
Mr. Browke proposed to merely take the marked amounts on 
the others, as evidence of the sums they contained. ^' Not 
so," said General Gorman. '* You have commenced to investi- 
gate my expenditures, and, sir, you shall not leave this room 
before you have counted every piece of that money, and found 
that my accounts are square to a cent.^' And Mr. Browne 
had to count the money, finding, upon completing the task, 
that the Governor's accounts were "square to a cent." 

During his administration he made it a point to deal fairly 
and justly with the Indians; and, by his policy, uuiform peace 
and good order prevailed among all the tribes. By order of 
the general government, he made several treaties with the In- 
dians, in 1854-5, all oi which were accomplished with entire 
peace and harmony, and to the satisfaction of the government 
and the Indians. In behalf of these several tribes. Gov. Gor- 
man disbursed upward of a million dollars for the general 
government, without it, or the Indians, losing one dollar. 
An incident illustrating his firmness and prompt decision in 
critical moments, may be mentioned in this connection. In 
1853 he was ordered by the government to remove the Sioux 
bands from their homes ou the west banks of the Mississippi, 
opposite St. Paul, to their own reservation at Redwood and 
Yellow Medicine, as provided by treaty. As there were up- 
wards of six thousand Indians upon the Mississippi and Minne- 
sota rivers, and among them the celebrated chiefs, Little Grow 
and Wabasha, this undertaking was considered a difficult 
and extremely delicate task. The governor, however, after 
taking counsel with such men as Gov. Sibley, Philander 
Prescott,^ Franklin Steele, H. M. Rice, George Culver, 

1. Philander raEHCOTT was born at Phelps, N. Y., Sept. 17, 1801. In 1819 he 
left home in company with his brother, Zachariah W. and engaged In the fur 
trade among the Dakotas ; marrying In 1823, a daughter of one of their chiefs, 
Kee-e-Hei (The man that flib&) Tills wife aftenvards became a Christian 



life of eon. w. a. gorman. 319 

John Farrington, N. Myrick, Alexis Bailly,^ Alex. 
Faribault and W. H. Forbes, to all and to each of whom he 
ever expressed the greatest obligations, commenced the re- 
moval of the Indians, only aided by two or three interpreters, 
and Joseph R. Brown and a few other old traders. He ac- 
companied the Indians on their long and tedious march, and 
although he had with him $250,000 in gold for the tribef>, he 
took no force or guard, but permitted the Indians to guard 
the money themselves. The journey was accomplished in 
safety, with but one slight incident, above alluded to. When 
the Indians arrived at the ^^^ig Woods,^^ at a point near 
where Belle Plaine is at present, they demanded a ^^big talk,^* 
or council, with '*the man with the eaglets eye," as they 
styled the Governor. Their request was granted. The coun- 
cil ring was formed, and the chiefs centered about the Gover- 
nor. The chief, Wabasha, first addressed the Governor, 
speaking about as follows: ^'Tou have given us plenty of 
flour, and plenty of beef and white man's meat. But Indians 
love venison. Our young men want to hunt. The fall hunt 
is now approaching. When you leave us, your beef will soon 
be gone. We will have no fresh meat, or dried beef for win. 

and was baptized by the name of Maby. She died at tlie home of her daugliter, 
Mrs. Eu rRTTUOHN, in Sbakopee, in 18G7, mach respected. 

Mr. Prescott soon obtained great influence among ibe Daltotas. He was in 
tbe service of the government as agent, interpreter, fanner, etc., for many 
years, and was a valuable and trusted official. He was a man of considerable 
education, strong good sense, and acute mental qualities, and wrote many val- 
uable papers on Indian matters, agriculture, reports of agency affairs, etc. A 
valuable article by him is in Schoolcbafi's Indian Tribes. He was stationed 
most of the time, from 1837 to 1866, at Ft. SnelUng, and when that post was 
abandoned by the U. S., he removed to Redwood, where he was Indian farmer 
at the time of the outbreak. On Aug. 10, 1862, the Indians savagely murdered 
him near Ft. Ridgely, though he had been their friend and benefactor for forty 
years. He wrote a short time before, a memoir of his life, which covered 60 
pages of manuscript, but, it is feared, is now lost. W. 

1. AuEXTS Baillt was bom in Michigan, Dec. 14, 1708. He came to Mendota 
about 1824, and embarked in the fur trade there. He. was, soon after, mamed 
to Miss Lucy Faribault, (daughter of Alex. Faribault.) who died several 
years later. Mr. Baillt sold his Mendota post to H. H. Siblby, in 1835, and 
about 1840 embarked in trade at Wabasha, where he built a warehouse and 
store, and remained in business there until the close of his life, though having 
an interest in the Indian trade at other points. He was a member of the House 
of iRepresentativesof the First Territorial Legislature. In 1806, he married (at 
St. Paul) Miss Julia Corey, of Ck>oper8town, N. Y., a sister of Mrs. Wm. H. 
Forbes, and Mrs. Louis Blum, of St. Paul. Mr. Bailly died at Wabasha, 
June 3, 1861. W. 



320 MINNESOTA HISTOBICAL COLLECIIOKS. 

ter; when we reach our new home the baffalo will ran away. 
Unless our great father permits us .to kill game in the Big 
Woods, our squaws and papooses will starve next winter/^ 
When this speech was finished. Eagle and Red Ibok fol* 
lowed, insisting that they be permitted to make their fall 
hunt in the Big Woods. The GoTemor appreciated the situ- 
ation, but was determined not to yield to a demand so incon- 
venient to all concerned. He replied that he would like to 
please them, but they had made a treaty; had sold their 
lands, and were to be paid in regular yearly installments 
within twenty years. The government would not see them 
starve, but would help them adopt some part of the white 
man's habits, and for this purpose would give them imple- 
ments, and furnish farmers to instruct them. They could 
not remain there longer than three days. As he finished, one 
of the warriors of the Lake Calhoun band arose, and said that 
the traders would get all their money, and they must stay 
there until the '^next moon'' anyhow. Little Crow in the 
meantime had been silent, but he now arose, and in a loud 
voice said: ^^If we stay down here and get our money, the 
traders will be sure to get it, and all our blankets. We have 
agreed to go, and we must do as our great father asks us. 
But we would like some better cattle than you have along." 
He sat down, and the young Calhoun Lake warrior again 
arose, and said determinedly that the chiefs and women might 
go on, but the young men would stay; they wouldn't go. At 
this, the Governor in wrath, told the interpreter to tell that 
young man he should go to Redwood, if he had to send to 
Fort Snelling for troops. The council then broke up, and 
the Indians retired to a private consultation. That night 
the governor secretly sent a messenger to the fort, asking for 
a force, and by nine o'clock the next day, one hundred dra- 
goons, under Capt. McGruder, with' a battery of artillery, 
drew up before the astonished Indians. After a while. Little 
Crow made the soldiers a speech advising them to go on, and 
the Indians all gathered about the Governor to shake hands 
with him, assuring him of their willingness to start. 



LIFE OF HON. W. Ju QOBMAN. 321 

No further trouble was experienced. The bands settled 
quietly down upon their new lands, and remained in that con- 
dition for eight years — until 1862. 

Many more instances might be related, but these will suffice. 

In short, the administration of Governor Gorman was of 
that character outlined in the closing extract of his first 
message to the Council and House of Representatives, when 
he said : 

'* I hope that in yoar lefl^islation you may find it profitable to refer fre- 
quently to the great political troths that have guided tho^e wise states- 
men of the past, and illuminated the path and progress of republican 
liberty throughout this great confederacy. Give the people the largest 
political rights consistent with the constitution of the United States and 
the organic act of the Territory. Enforce the strictest obedience to the 
laws. Be guided by the safest economy in all public expenditures; let 
your action be controlled by the rule that the * right is always expedisnt.^ 
Encourage a high morality amongst the people. Guard the weak against 
the strong. Give equal rights to all, exclusive privileges to none. 
And thus, by keeping these great troths before our eyes, we shall merit 
and receive the approbation of Him who holds the destiny of nations in 
His hand, and lay the foundation, broad and deep, for a state in whose 
destiny we shall all be proud.'' 

In 1857 Governor Gorkak was succeeded by Hon. Samuel 
Mkdaby,* appointed by President Buchanan. Gov. Mb- 
DABY arrived in St. Paul April 22d, and at once assumed the 
gubernatorial chair. At the election June 1st, for delegates 
to the constitutional convention, Governor Gorman was 

1. Samukl Medaby, Governor of Minnesota, 1867-58, was born In Montgomery 
county, ra., Feb. 26, 1801. His early education was limited, but he became a 
printer, and acquired a largd fund of general information. Taking a great in- 
terest in politics, he Joined the Jackson party, and remained an adherent of it 
through life. He was for many years editor of the Ohio Statesman^ published 
at Columbus, O. His editorials, though lacking in polish, were full of vigor, and 
he became one of the leading men of his party in Ohio. Though a personal 
friend of Douolab, he separated from the latter when he opposed Buchakak. 
He was, by the latter President, appointed Governor of Minnesota in March, 
1867, and soon after assumed the executive chair. He delivered two messages 
to the Legislature, one to the extra session, and one to the '^State** Legislature 
in December. He never made St. Paul his actual residence, and during the de- 
lay In the admission of the State, returned to Columbus. He was, not long 
afterward, appointed Governor of Kansas, which post he filled a few months, 
in 1868-69. During the war of secession, he was a '*Peace Democrat." He 
died in Columbus Nov. 7, 1864, from the effects, it is asserted, of poison taken at 
the dinner table of the National Hotel in Washington, in 1867, when President 
Buchanan and others were so nearly fatally poisoned. W. 



322 KiNinssoTA historical collectiokb. 

elected from St. Paal, and took an active part in the discus- 
sion of the various measures considered by that body. He 
was a candidate for a seat in the U. S. Senate before the Ter- 
ritorial Legislature in 1858, but was defeated by a division of 
his party friends. In the fall of 1859 he was elected a Rep- 
resentative, but owing to the very long session of the year 
previous, the Governor did not call the Legislature together. 

In the Presidential election of 1860, Governor Gorman took 
a prominent part, ably and earnestly championing the claims 
of "The Little Giant,'' Hon. Stephen A. Douglas. He was 
chosen a delegate to the "Charleston convention.'' 

The following year, when the mutterings preceding the 
late war began to be heard. Governor Gorman early an- 
nounced himself as an unqualified Unionist. When the first 
war meeting was held in St. Paul, after the fall of Sumter, 
he made a stirring, eloquent and fervid appeal to the patriot- 
ism of the citizens, that gave a tone and direction to the feel- 
ing of the city. He also set an example by promptly offering 
his services for the war. His services were accepted by Gov- 
ernor Ramsey, by whom he was authorized to raise a regi- 
ment. In the excitement then existing, this was soon ac- 
complished, the regiment being designated the First Minne- 
sota Infantry, and on the 29th of April, Gov. Gorman was 
commissioned Colonel, Stephen Miller Lieutenant-Colonel, 
and Wm. H. Dike Major. The regiment was ordered to 
Washington June 14th, 1861, where it was assigned to Gen. 
McDowell's command, by which the battle of the first Bull 
Run was fought and lost. In this . engagement the regi- 
ment and Col. Gorman attracted much notice by their gal- 
lantry. On returning to Washington, Col, Gorman was 
placed in command of the Brigade composed of the First Min- 
nesota, 82d New York, 15th Massachusetts, and 34th New 
York. On the 17th of September following, in recognition 
of his gallant conduct in the Bull Run engagement, and his 
soldierly qualities, he was, upon the recommendation of the 
Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Scott, appointed Brigadier Gen- 
eral of volunteers, his being one of the first promotions made 
from the volunteer service. October 22d following, his Brig- 
ade took part in the battle of Ball's Blufi^, his old regiment, 



LIFE OF HON. W. A. GORMAK. 323 

the First, having the advance in the crossing at Edward^s 
Ferry, and covering the retreat after the defeat. Gen. Gor- 
man was second in command of this force, and often was in 
full command, hy the absence of Gen. Stone. 

The following spring Gen. Gorman's brigade formed a por- 
tion of the column which advanced on Richmond by way of 
the Peninsula. An attack of fever, however, compelled his 
relinquishment of the command while the campaign was in 
progress, and his return to Washington. Later in the season, 
after Pope's disastrous campaign, Gen. Gorman was again 
able to take the field, accompanying Gen. McGlellan's col- 
umn on its march to intercept Lee, at the time of his first 
invasion of Maryland, and participating in the battles of 
South Mountain and Antietam. In the latter, the casualties 
of battle gave him the command of his division, the Second 
Division, Second Army Corps, in which he continued until 
the re-organization of the army following Gen. McClellan's 
removal. In the changes then occurring. Gen. Gorman was 
ordered to the Southwest, where he remained, performing the 
duties assigned to him until the latter part of 1864, when, after 
nearly four years of active and laborious service, with credit 
to himself and his State, he laid aside his military trappings 
and honors, and sought in private life, that rest and recupera- 
tion to which he was so well entitled, and of which he stood 
so much in need 

Returning to St. Paul, Gen. Gorman, after a short season 
of rest, formed a law paitnership with Hon. C. K. Davis. In 
1869 he was elected City Attorney, which oflSce he held at the 
time oi his death, being re-elected in 1871, 1873 and 1875. In 
this ofiice he labored at the expense of the acquisition of 
wealth, and to the detriment of his health, which became 
seriously impaired a year or two ago; his decline exciting the 
interest and fears of his most intimate friends, though he 
himself attended to his official duties with the same self- 
denying devotion which ever marked his public career. 

Gen. Gorman had been twice married; first at Blooming- 
ton, Indiana, January, 1836, to Miss Martha Stone, and 
second to Miss Emilt Nbwington, at Christ Church, this 
city, by the late Rev. S. Y. McMasters, April 27, 1865, this 



324 MIKKBSOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTION B. 

estimable lady surviving her husband to mourn her irrepara- 
ble loss. By the union with Miss Maetha Stoke, there 
were five children, as follows: R. F. Gobmak, the eldest, and 
present clerk of the Board of Public Works; Jambs W. Gor- 
KAN, who was Assbtant Adjutant General on the GeneraUs 
staff from September, 1862, up to the time of his death, which 
occurred at Indianapolis, Indiana, February 19, 1873, from 
disease contracted in the service; Louisa G., former wife of 
Harvey Officer, Esq., who died of Consumption, March, 4, 
1870; £. S. GoRMAK, practicing attorney at law in this city, 
and Martha B., now Mrs. Wood, residing at Evansville, 
Indiana. The mother of these children departed this life at 
Bloomington, Indiana, the home of her maidenhood, where 
she was temporarily residing, during the absence of General 
Gorman with his military command, March 1, 1864. By the 
last union there was no issue. 

Though Gen. Gorkak possessed some eccentric traits of 
character, the effect of an ardent and impetuous temperament, 
which were not favorable to sustained success as a politician, 
he always maintained a leading and influential positio:i in his 
party. His ready eloquence and fine abilities were always at its 
service, and his enthusiastic devotion to its cause, almost recalled 
the generous ardor of a knight of the Crusades. He displayed 
the courage, the impetuosity, and the independence of his 
character, in his vigorous opposition to various schemes re- 
lating to the material development of the State, such as the 
Five Million Loan Bill, which he thought unwise and dis- 
honest, though supported by the most powerful political com- 
binations of the time. 

Socially, Gen. Gorman was a very agreeable gentleman, 
and in all the relations of life a warm-hearted, kind, and gen- 
erous man. His faults were those arising from the impulsive- 
ness of an ardent temperament, and a lively imagination. 
But there was no element of meanness or maliciousness in his 
character. '^ * * In his demise, hundreds felt that they had 
lost a warm and valued personal friend; and though he led an 
active life, which brought him into strong political contests, he 
laid down his well-worn armor without leaving any bitterness 



LIFE OF HON. W. A. QOBMAlir. 325 

behind. On the contrary, the mourning was general and 
well nigh uniyersal.' * * * 

He knew that his end had come, and he met it bravely. 
Yesterday morning [May 19. J he took leave of his family, and 
with Spartan and eloquent firmness, addressed each personally, 
giving precepts and advice which will never be forgotten. 
Bishops Grace and Ireland had already administered to 
him extreme unction, and he feelingly enjoined upon his chil- 
dren to adhere to the Catholic Church. Though his body 
was helpless, his intellect was clear; and while weeping friends 
stood around, he spoke with such force and tenderness as to 
render it one of the most touching death-bed scenes ever wit- 
nessed. 

The news of the death [May 20.] spread with rapidity over 
the city, and flags were hoisted at half mast over the State 
Capitol, Custom Hoase, City Hall, and the engine houses. 

« 

THE OBSEQUIES. 
From the Pioneer- Press, May 24, 1876. 

Yesterday was one of the most beautiful spring days that 
ever dawned. Nature wore her brightest smile, but the hearts 
of the people of this city were sad and heavy; for it was their 
painful duty, on that perfect day, to follow to its last resting 
place, the remains of one of their number who had long held 
a position of honor in their councils and in their hearts. 
They were to pay the last tribute of affection, and look for 
the last time upon the features, of one who for nearly a quar- 
ter of a century has moved among them, and who now had 
the affectionate regaids of all. 

The death ot such a man is regarded as a public calamity, 
and hence, yesterday, the day of the funeral of the lamented 
deceased, was a day of general mourning, and during the hours 
devoted to the funeral services, business was almost suspended. 
MQ^ left the marts of trade to pay their last sad respects to 
the departed citizen. 

The hour set for the service was half past ten in the morn- 
ing, and long before that time, throngs flowed into the spa- 
cious cathedral, or gathered in its vicinity, awaiting the arri- 



326 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

val of the funeral cortege. On every side were heard eulogies 
of the deceased; all remembered him with kindness, and spoke 
oi him in terms of praise. As the hour approached, the Bar 
Association, numbering upwards of seventy lawyers, filed into 
the cathedral, headed by the Judges of the Supreme and Dis- 
trict Courts, and the Court of Common Pleas. They were 
seated in pews at the left of the center aisle. Shortly after, 
an escort of forty guns, from the 20th U. S. Infantry, officered 
by Capt. Cos and Lieuts. Wishard and Bannister, appeared 
with the full regimental band, and took position in front of 
the church. Gen. Sykes, of the 20th, arrived with his staff, 
and passed to sittings reserved for them. 

In the meantime, an escort consisting of the Mayor and 
Council, the city officers, the veterans of the Mexican war, 
many members of the old Minnesota 1st, the Acker Post of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, and a large body t)f the 
members of the fire department, had proceeded with the Great 
Western band to the house of mourning. Receiving the re- 
mains, the procession escorted it and the bereaved family to 
the Cathedral, passing up College avenue to St. Anthony hill, 
and thence by Third, Wabasha and Sixth streets. 

The plain, rich casket was lifted from the hearse and car- 
ried by the pall bearers to the steps of the sanctuary. The 
friends who were selected for this sad task were Gen. H. H. 
Sibley, H. M. Rice, J. S. Prince, J. M. Giucan, H. P. Mas- 
TERSON, Morris Lamprey, Col. Robertson and James Star- 
key. The bearers occupied the front pews in the center aisle, 
immediately in- front of the members of the family, who 
mourned a loving husband, father and friend. Back of them, 
and filling the great number of pews on each side of the long 
aisle, were the citizen soldiery who had been comrades with 
the General in times of war, while behind the Bar Association 
were located Gov. Pillsbury, with the State officers, ex-Gov. 
Davis, Mayor Maxeield, the City Council, the county officers 
and county board, and representatives from the Stock Raisers^ 
Association, the State Agricultural society and other organi* 
zations with which the deceased was connected. The remain- 
der of the space in the great edifice, was thronged with sympa- 
thizing citizens and their families. 



LIFE OF HON. W. A. OOBHAN. 327 

The sanctuary wore the sable garb of mourning, and the 
glancing beams of the blazing star over the high altar, shed 
a mystic light upon the funeral symbols. The impressive 
requiem mass was celebrated. Rev. Father JoHK ShanIiEY 
officiating, the grand music by Muller being finely rendered 
by a choir of about twenty singers. A most tender and 
eloquent funeral sermon was preached by Kt. Rev. Bishop 
Ireland, who selected the words: '^ It is appointed unto man 
once to die, and after death the judgment/^ The discourse 
produced a profound impression on the immense congrega- 
tion, and it was indeed a beautiful tribute to the dead. The 
preacher closed with an impressive peroration, after which 
the last sad rites were performed over the remains. The 
casket was then opened and thousands gazed for the last time 
upon the honored and familiar face. 

The pall bearers again raising the coffin, on whose lid had 
been placed a cross, an anchor, a star and, a .wreath, all 
wrought of beautiful cut flowers, passed from the church as 
the organist played a requiem march. The procession was 
of great length, and presented a most imposing appearance, 
surpassing any ever before seen in this community. It passed 
up Wabasha street to Rice, where all of the escort on foot, 
except the detachment of the regular army, filed from the 
line and returned to the city. On reaching Oakland ceme- 
tery, the cortege proceeded directly to the beautiful family 
lot in the western corner of the grounds, and in the presence 
of the family and friends, the remains of General Gormak 
were gently lowered to their last resting place, and after 
many dear ones had bestowed floral oflerings upon the lid of 
the coffin, the firing party of the Twentieth infantry dis- 
charged three volleys over the grave, the soldiers' salute to a 
comrade gone. Slowly and sadly, the bereaved friends sought 
their carriages, and returned to the busy scenes of life. 



328 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLBCTIOKS. 

EULOGY BY EX-GOV. C. K. DAVIS, BEFOBE THE RAMSEY COUNTY BAR 

ASSOCIATION. 

At a meeting of the Ramsey Cotmty Bar Association, held on May 24, 
1876, Gen. John B. Sanborn offered resolutions expressive of the respect 
felt by the Bar for their deceased associate, and their sorrow at his loss, 
accompanying them by a warm eulogy on his character. 

£z-Gov. CuBHMAN K. Dayib then spoke as follows: 

Mr. PRESiDBiirr: The custom which directs the bar to com- 
memorate the virtues and abilities of its departed members 
by making the record of justice the depository of such tri- 
butes as have just been rendered, is at no time so fully vindi- 
cated as on occasions like this, when the oldest lawyer at the 
bar is summoned to go the way of all the earth. 

It is in a certain sense a final and irreversible judgment of 
affirmance pronounced upon the record of a well spent life. 
Gen. GoBMAH was a man who, in his time, played many 
parts, and no estimate of him will be nearly adequate, which 
does not take them all into consideration, not only to illus- 
trate his merits, but also to explain how immaterial are the 
imperfections which necessarily inhere in, but do not blemish 
a character, which has been tried by so many tests. Many a 
man, by adhering to the plane and level of one profession, a]> 
rives at that dull and uninteresting perfection which leaves 
nothing for panegyric, but common place, and absolutely 
nothing for censure. This father of our bar was not of these; 
he was a soldier, a statesman and a lawyer. He ran those 
careers, and each with honor. He has received the cavil and 
the praise incident to each, and at the end of each has been 
met with honor by those who sent him forth. It is probably 
because my personal relations to him, during and since the 
late war, were so intimate, that I have been asked to give ex- 
pression of the sentiments which are entertained towards him 
by his professional brethren, who knew him better than any 
others. 

The declaration of war with Mexico, found him a young 
man in the fullness of his intellectual and physical vigor. At 
the first call of his country, he was one of the first to answer, 
and from the beginning to the end of that war of aggrandize- 
ment and conquest, which resulted in giving to the nation, 



X.IPE OF HON. W. A. GORMAN. 329 

not only its dominant position upon the Pacific, but also ter- 
ritorial and political symmetry throughout, he was contin- 
ally in the field, participating in every battle fought by the 
army to which he belonged, and what is of equal, though 
perhaps of less resplendent glory, aiding by his civil abilities 
to make the history of the military occupation of the con- 
quered country so honorable to our nation, by its freedom 
trom rapine, and from that victorious insolence which gener- 
ally marks the demeanor of successful invaders. He was for 
a time, military Governor of one of the largest Mexican cities, 
and it is the concurrent testimony of all who witnessed his 
administration, that the prese ace of the conquering army was 
hardly felt. The courts of justice were opened. The magis- 
tracy was sustained in its administration of the law of that 
land. No temple was desecrated, no sacred bound of proper- 
ty was broken down, no domestic privacy was invaded, no 
private right was infringed. He came from that contest 
with honorable hurts of body, but bearing a secure record of 
duty well performed by a patriot. 

When the war for the Union began, the first gun fired by 
the hands of confederate traitors, aroused all of the patriot- 
ism of his nature. It is not for me to tell you who heard 
and saw all that he did then, to recite his stirring appeals for 
the perpetuity of the Union of our fathers; how he forgot 
party; how utterly he abhorred the timorous and vacillating 
cry of ^^peace,'^ when there was no peace; how, at his call, was 
marshalled, with electric quickness, that first regiment, the 
pride and glory of the State, whose record under his com- 
mand is written, ineffaceably, in the history of those dark and 
doubtful days, when Liberty stood stabbed and tottering 
among her contending sons. 

During the latter part of his military career, my relations 
toward him were most intimate. His demeanor towards me 
was most paternal. I was struck at once with his desire for 
the subordination of the military to the civil law. I never 
knew him to countenance the use of the military power to 
abridge or to decide a civil right. As characteristic of his dis- 
position, I may mention that when he assumed command at 
Helena, the city had been in federal occupation for nearly 



330 MIKNESOTA HISTOaiCAL 00LLEGTI0K8. 

one year. Every trace of civil administration was gone. 
The courts had been closed for months. It was an important 
commercial point, and within that time some very extensive 
mercantile establishments had been founded, whose large 
transactions necessarily gave rise to legal questions. Appeals 
to him for redress of clear grievances were frequent. He 
would not be persuaded to touch them by any direct decision 
of his own. He selected from his command three officers, 
each eminent members of the legal profession, established 
a court of civil jurisdiction, of which they were the judges. 
They were ordered to proceed according to the form of the 
common law, upon matters which had arisen since the cap- 
ture of the city. I remember particularly one important 
case, where a bill was filed for the dissolution of a mercantile 
partnership, upon charges of fraud against the resident and 
managing partner. A receiver was appointed, the accounts 
were stated, and the entire business closed most equitably. 
Ex-United States Senator Sebastian was one of the counsel 
in the case, and was unqualified in his praise of the integrity 
and ability of the court. The stability and security which 
were thus given to the business interests of the town, can 
hardly be appreciated by any one who has not witnessed the 
utter lawlessness of transient civilians, in places which are 
under military rule solely. It is well known that on many 
political questions which were necessarily incident to the 
conduct of the war, his views were not in accordance with 
many of the extreme measures which the administration felt 
compelled to adopt. As a matter of personal judgment, he 
was never convinced of the necessity of arming the freedmen, 
though he warmly approved their emancipation. 

But when it became apparent that the administration was 
about to arm the colored people, he anticipated its action by 
organizing and drilling a regiment of freedmen, so that when 
the orders came to put arms into the hands of these people^ 
they were ready to receive them and go into the service. This 
regiment was the First Arkansas, and did its full duty in aid- 
ing to repel the attack which was made upon the town on the 
morning of July 4, 1864.' 

As a statesman he was prominently identified, as a member 



LIf E OP HON. W. A. OORMAN. 331 

of Congress, witt the comprom^'oe measures which were so 
fully discussed in iri9 and 1850. He bore a most conspicuous 
and honorable part in shaping the frame of our present State 
government. Hjs admi 'j istrallon while Governor of the Terri- 
tory was marked by independence, ability and honesty. He 
was never accused of being the tool or property of any ring 
or clique. They who remember, most distinctly and with 
some feeling, the warm contests of that period, do not charge 
him with betrayal of any trust. Among his acts as a mem- 
ber of the Constitutional Convention, he was accustomed to' 
recur, with honorable pride, to his efforts in aiding to establish 
the policy of this State, in regard to the Common School 
Fund. 

His errors, if there are any, are forgotten, for they are upon 
collateral and transitory questions. In all that pertained to 
the permanent well-being of the State, his actions have stood 
the test of time, and none of their results ever arose in 
reproach against him in his latter years. 

In his profession, he had no superior as an advocate. . His 
devotion to a client knew no bounds, and he brought to the 
trial of any case in which he was engaged, resources and tact 
which made him a most dangerous antagonist. When he 
had mastered the legal principles involved in a case, his pre- 
sentation of them to the court was marked with great power 
of reasoning and precision of statement. The last years of 
his life were engrossed in the legal business incident to the 
office of City Attorney, and all of us know how entirely he 
devoted himself to its duties; how faithful he was to the in- 
terests of this community. He was a lovable man. * There 
was no kinder neighbor. No man ever heard him derogate, 
by a malignant word, the fair fame of man or woman. He 
preserved, through hi^ long and difficult career, that purity 
of mind, which is so'oftien lost under the influence of great 
success, or great disappointments. He never did, or coun- 
selled, a mean act. His position on any question could be 
ascertained for the asking. His large generosity expanded in 
the praise of other men; he had none of that spirit of detrac- 



40 



332 MIKKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

tion which speaks to their detriment. Who is there of us 
who would be more missed than he ? 

Never again for any of us in this world will glance that 
kindly eye — will sound that sweet and sympathetic voice — 
will clasp that warm and stainless hand. 

He might have filled a larger space in the view of men, but 
we could not have loved and honored him more, had he been 

one 

" Who makee by force his merit known, 
And lives to clutch the golden keys. 
To moald a mighty State*s decrees. 
And shape the whisper of the throne." 

It is one of the facts to which we cannot reconcile our- 
selves, that the force of such personal examples as his, per- 
ishes so soon. Nothing is permanent but the permanency of 
change; and the sure and saddening change in which a good 
man disappears, and shortly after, his memory and his works 
go after him, '^Like a dream of the shadow of smoke,^' seems 
to us who, look with finite vision, like uncompensated loss. 
Let us protect him and his memory, as far as we may, against 
the inevitable resolution of all things into dim forgetfulness. 
Assuring ourselves that in our time we shall not see, fortunate 
will those who come after us be, if they can possess as a com- 
panion, so brave, so faithful, so spotless a man as Willis 
Arkold Gobkan. 



LAKE SUPERIOR. 



ITS HISTORY— ROMANCE OF THE FUR TRADE— ITS PHYSICAL 
FEATURES-TREATIES— THE VOYAGEURS, ETC. 



ANNUAL ADDBESS, DELIVEBBD BEFORE THE MINNESOTA HISTOBI- 

CAL SOCIETY, JAN. 24, 1879. 



BT HON. JAMBS H. BAKER. 

There is an aristocracy in nature, as among men. There 
are natural objects of such extent and grandeur, that they 
are forever in the eye of the world. The altitude of moun- 
tains, the extent of continents, the volume and length of 
rivers, are always sources of admiration and pride. Their 
greatness swells the mind with a sense of their majesty and 
grandeur. That wonderful chain of great lakes, enthroned 
on a great volcanic upheaval in the center of the North Amer- 
ican continent, and descending in grand gradations, from 
great altitudes, now over rapids like the Sault Ste. Marie, 
and again over cataracts like Niagara, to the plain of the 
ocean, present a series of '^unsalted seas," whose extent, mar- 
velous beauty and picturesque grandeur, give them pre-emi- 
nent rank among the commanding objects of the natural 
world. But excelling all other lakes in the ample volume of 
its waters, like the Himalaya among mountains, or the Ama- 
zon among rivers, is that one whose simple name alone, indi- 
cates its surpassing greatness, — Lake Superior. 



334 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

When it was, in what epoch of the world's great history, 
these grim masses of primitive rock in which this lake lies 
imbedded first lifted their basaltic scalps to the sky, the geol- 
ogist himself cannot tell. When the waters went down, and 
the volcanic masses up, it matters not. Millions of years 
gaze at you from the grey clififs which encircle this sea. And 
the same primitive upheaval spreads north, through realms 
as large as Europe, filled with wild lakes, roaring cataracts, 
rugged cliffs and impassable solitudes, in savage grandeur, to 
that frozen zone where the wild swan flies to his summer 
home. Everything about this lake is inspiring. More than 
a thousand miles from the sea, it reproduces in the heart of a 
continent the majesty and power of the "dark, deep, blue 
ocean/' It is a sea, not a lake. It breeds storms and fogs 
and rain, like an ocean. It is an independent factor in the 
world's water system. 

OF THE PRE-HISTORIC RACE ON ITS SHORES. 

We are accustomed to think of this great inland sea as be- 
ing wholly alone in thesolitudesof nature, till revealed by the 
Jesuit missionaries of the seventeenth century. But it is a 
region not without annals. It is true there are no ruins, no 
broken temples, and no living spectres of dead empires salute 
the eye along its shores. And yet the pre-historic man has 
been there. The antiquarian can visit the southern shores 
and islands of the great lake with delight. Here are rich 
legacies of the immemorial past. The southern shore of the 
great lake for 175 miles, is bounded by alternate beds of trap 
and conglomerate of the Lower Silurian age. In these an- 
cient beds are veins of native copper. That this copper-bear- 
ing region was resorted to in remote ages by a race of whom 
the Indians themselves have no tradition, there is ample tes- 
timony. There are the opened veins, with heaps of rubbish, 
in which have been found chisels, knives, wooden bowls for 
bailing water, levers for raising masses of copper, and ladders 
for ascending and descending the pits. There are other and 
abundant evidences of extensive copper-mining. None of 
the existing tribes of Indians, or their known ancestors, ever 



LAKE superior; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 335 

worked these mines. The Copper-Miners were connected 
with the Mound-Builders, for free copper is found in their 
mounds, and free copper is not found elsewhere in the United 
States than on the shores of Lake Superior. This necessita- 
ted, and proves, a great inland commerce between the shores 
of the Ohio river and the great lake, at some pre-historic 
period. We have but re-discovered these copper mines, and 
now supply ourselves from the same sources as the Mound- 
Builders. From their works in pottery, stone and metal, it 
is apparent that these people were highly civilized for that 
period. Their's were the arts of peace and industry, as shown 
by their memorials. Who these people were, whither they 
have gone, or how they perished, is left to conjecture. They 
had no Herodotus to transmit their story, and there is a void 
in human history that forever baffles us. How long since 
they lived and flourished on these shores, is not wholly con- 
jecture. Scientific men have given an antiquity of not less 
than five thousand, and more probably seven thousand years, 
to the Swiss-lake habitations recently exhumed. We may 
therefore safely say, from like data and reasoning, based upon 
memorative works, that five thousand years ago an active, 
industrious, and commercial people d^elt upon the shores 
and islands of Lake Superior. We are only recording upon 
those shores the monuments of a second civilization, 

HISTORIC period OF THE GREAT LAKE — THE JESUIT FATHERS. 

Religion was the grand inspiring motive which first gave 
Lake Superior to the knowledge of our era. It is just 238 
years since the followers of Loyola first landed at the Sault 
Ste. Marie, at the lower extremity of the basin of this inland 
sea. Fathers Jogues and Raimbault landed at the Sault in 
1641. Rene Meskard came in 1660. Allouez came in 1665, 
and Marquette in 1668. Allouez established at the Sault the 
first permanent mission, and explored the whole southern 
shore of the lake seven years before the coming of Frontenac. 
These two latter fathers prepared and afterwards published 
in Paris, the first rude map of these waters, from actual obser- 
vation, in 1672. Champlain had published a map in 1665, 



336 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

irom hearsay, and located Superior, calling it the "Grand lac^ 
Marquette was the first to erect his cabin on the American 
side of the Sault Ste. Marie. Thus the Jesuit fathers were the 
first white men upon whose vision burst the splendid scenes 
of this inland sea. Coming to plant the banner of the Gross, 
they first explored its shores. There is no more heroic record 
than that of these devoted missionaries. They only required 
the pen of a Livt to have made their history immortal. They 
endured hunger, cold, scourging, and often death itself, in 
threading its forests, swimming its rivers, and coasting in 
frail canoes its rugged and dangerous shores. There is little 
which remains to mark their heroic advent and career, for 
they were illy received by the natives, and too often sealed 
their religious devotion with their lives. They imprinted 
their early presence as nomenclators, for they called its rivers, 
capes and islands for their patron saints. The first discoverer 
of the great lake. Father Isaac Jogues, was afterwards taken 
prisoner by the Iroquois Indians, suffered the most terrible 
indignities, his hands fearfully mutilated, and he was scourged 
from village to village, when, finally, ransomed by a Dutch 
oflScer, he returned to his native France. He demanded of 
the Pope the privilege of saying mass, and those torn hands, 
which had been mutilated with savage barbarity on the shores 
of Lake Superior, were lifted in mute eloquence before the 
image of Jesus, beneath that dome made immortal by the 
genius of Michael Anoelo. It should here be noted as a 
fitting triumph to the discoveries of the Jesuit fathers, that 
Marquette, crossing the great lake in a bark canoe, first dis- 
covered the Mississippi on the 17th of June, 1673. Bancroft 
says, " The people of the West will yet build his monument." 
The Minnesota Historical Society should certainly desire to 
place a stone in such a memorial pillar. 

the natives whom the JESUITS FOUND. 

The Jesuit fathers found its shores the fastnesses of numer- 
ous warlike tribes. Chief among these were the Chippewas, 
They were found in force, and filled almost the entire basin 
of Superior. A powerful race, tracing their origin centuries 



LAKE SUPEBIOB; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 337 

back to the waters of the St. Lawrence, they had followed the 
great water-courses to the west, and when the Jesuits came, 
were the predominating power of the great lake. The French 
early formed an alliance with these Indians, and the attach- 
ment subsists to this day. Their language the French called 
the court language of the Aborigines. The Chippewas gave 
the name Kitchi-Gummi or '^ Big Lake,'* to Lake Superior. 
From their nomenclature the missionaries called it the great, 
or Superior Lake. Sohoolcbaft, who spent eleven years of 
his life among these Indians, at the foot of the lake, says that 
the Chippewa name gives the idea of ^^sea,** and as a poetical 
synonym he gave it the name of ^^ Algona,** which means, 
"Sea of the Algonquins." 

CHIPPEWA ORIGIN OF THE NAME "MINNESOTA" — THEIR 

MYTHOLOGICAL NOTIONS. 

It is not altogether certain but the name of our State is 
also of Chippewa origin. In one of my expeditions upon the 
north shore, being aqcompanied by an intelligent Chippewa 
chief, I found the shrub, Balm of Gilead, a small tree of med- 
icinal virtue, in great abundance. He gave me its Chippewa 
name as Mah-nu-sa-tia^ and s^d it was the name given by 
their people to all that country west of the great lake, because 
it was the country yielding the Mah-nu-sortia, On convers- 
ing with other intelligent Chippewas, I found this statement 
was invariably confirmed. They claim it as the traditional 
name of the land to the west of the lake. As they pronounce 
the name of the shrub, ,it has ihe familiar sound of the oft- 
quoted Sioux word, Min-ne-s(hta, It is among the probabili- 
ties that the Jesuit fathers first used this term from the Chip- 
pewas. 

We must remember that Minnesota was discovered by the 
way of Lake Superior; that those who discovered it were 
learned only in the Chippewa language; that the Chippewas 
were their only and daily associates, and that, in the absence of 
all other names, they would certainly presumably follow the 
Chippewa nomenclature. Nearly all our names east of the 
Mississippi river, were from the Jesuit fathers, through Chip- 



338 MTbTNESOTA FtSTORICAL COLLECTIONS, 

pewa sources; why not that of the State also? The early 
Ghippewas of two centuries ago, were a bold, brave people. 
They impressed themselves upon the whole lake region. 
Their homes extended from far east of the Sault Ste. Marie, 
and to the west beyond the waters of the St. Louis river. 
The shores of the great lake abound in their mythology. 
Their great chief dwelt on one of the Apostle islands. There, 
too, was the residence of ^^ Mishosta," who possessed a magic 
canoe, which would shoot through the waters by uttering a 
charmed word. There, also, was a rude temple, and tradition 
says that an eternal fire was kept up, with a temple service. 
They peopled the shores of the great lakes with innumerable 
spirits, giants, and wizards, who were wakeful dftnng summer, 
but slept during winter. Their traditions and power encircled 
these waters, and from its eariiest discovery almost till this 
day. Lake Superior has been essentially a Chippewa lake. 

ORIGIN OF THE SIOUX AND CHIPPEWA FEUD — FANCIFUL 

ORIGIN OF THE WHITEFISH. 

• 

Along these shores was the origin of that ancient feud which 
has endured for three centuries between the Sioux and the 
Ghippewas, more intense and bitter than the War of the 
Roses. It began about the year 1650. The tradition of its 
origin, as given by Schoolcraft, is that a Menominee chief 
ordered the mouth of the Menominee river stopped, so that 
the fish could not ascend. This caused a famine among the 
Ghippewas who dwelt in the interior. The Sioux supported 
the Menominees in this unfriendly act. Hence the bitter 
quarrel which has embittered and ensanguined all these years. 

The Sault Ste. Marie is given as the place of the fanciful 
origin of the whitefish, the most delicious fish of the lakes. 
In the stomach of these fish are found white particles like roe, 
or particles of brain. . The Ghippewa tradition therefore has 
it that this fish sprang from the brain of a woman who fell 
into the rapids, and had her skull dashed to pieces on the 
rocks. She had been guilty of a domestic infidelity, and in 
being carried across the rapids on the back of a chief, he threw 
her into the foaming fiood, and thus accomplished the poetic 
justice of the tale. 



LAKE superior; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 339 

THE PIRST TRADERS ON THE LAKE— ALEXANDER HENRY — FIRST 
COPPER COMPANY, AND SILVER FIRST FOUND. 

But as early as 1760, the adventurous Frenchman and 
robust Saxon came, to work a change in the scenes and pos- 
sessorship of the great lake. Traders were numerous and 
quarrelsome. But in 1765, by an edict of royal authority, 
the traders were required to procure license, and were to some 
extent under the surveillance of the military authorities. 
The first authorized trader was Alexander Henry,^ grand- 
father of Norman W. Kittson, Esq., of St. Paul, to whom, 
in 1765, was given authority for the exclusive trade of Lake 
Superior. His first stock consisted of the freight of four 
large canoes, on a twelve months' credit, to be paid for in 
beaver pelts. Furs were the only circulating medium, the 
"greenbacks " of that day. The pursuit of pelts was the one 
and only business of that era. All accounts were kept in 
beaver skins. The market prices are quoted in the old 
journals. A single blanket was worth ten beaver skins; a 
common gun, twenty skins; a pound of powder, two; and a 
pound of shot, one. A pint of rum would buy anything an 
Indian possessed. Some idea of the extent of this trade may 
be learned from the fact that Henry, in one short expedition 
to the North Shore, in three days' trading, secured 12,000 
beaver skins, besides many otter and marten. Henry's his- 
tory on Lake Superior, from 1760 to 1776, is a series of the 



1 Alex^vnder Henry was born In New Jersey, August, 1739. In 1760 he joined 
the expedition against Canada, which resulted in the capture of Montreal, and 
surrender of Canada. He then entered trade at Montreal, and was. In 1761, 
induced to engage In the fur trade at Mackinac, to which place he took a stock 
of goods. On June 4, 1763, Fort Mlchillniackinac was surprised and captured by 
the Ojibwas, and the English inhabitants massacred. Henry was concealed In 
M. Lanoladk's house, by a slave Indian woman, and his life thus spared, but he 
was soon discovered by the savages, and made prisoner. All his property was 
lost. He remained a prisoner a year, and was then released at Fort Niagara. 
He afterwards (1765) returned to Mackinac, and secured a permit for the exclu- 
sive trade of Lake Superior. He entered into partnership with Michael 
Gadotte. and established a post at Ghagouemig. In 1775 he visited the Hudson's 
Bay region with an outfit of goods. He went as far as Gumberland House and 
GhurchlU river, and returned to Montreal in October, 1776. He soon after- 
ward embarked in business in Montreal, in which he was engaged at the time 
of his death, and was also the King's Auctioneer for that district. He published 
a very valuable and interesting account of his travels and adventures in the 
Northwest. He died at Montreal, April 4th, 1821. W. 



340 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

most remarkable adventures and romantic fortunes. He was 
possessed of that robust courage and heroic daring essential 
to his era. In 1770, papers were issued in England to Mr. 
Henby, in company with a Mr. Baxter, ^'for a company of 
adventurers to work the copper mines of Lake Superior.^ 
They opened veins on both the north and south shore. But 
the enterprise proved a failure. In one of their mineral ex- 
peditions, a Russian gentleman picked up a piece of ore of 
eight potinds weight, took it to England, and it yielded silver 
at the rate of 60 pounds of silver to 100 pounds of ore. It 
was deposited in the British Museum, and is the first recorded 
specimen of silver from Lake Superior. Other similar speci- 
mens were afterwards found by servants of the fur companies; 
but such explorations were strictly prohibited, as the sole in- 
terest authorized and encouraged by these great companies 
was the fur business, to which an empire was devoted and a 
race sacrificed. 

THE reign of THE FUR COMPANIES — ^THEIR WARS AND CONSOLI- 
DATIONS. 

But in 1784 the celebrated Northwest Fur Company was 
organized at Montreal from among the most active of the 
traders. They monopolized the shores of the lake, and with 
relentless severity expelled all private adventurers. . The 
Hudson Bay company^s posts had not yet reached that far 
south. The Northwest company were lords of the lake. 
They dwelt in semi-baronial state at their grand chateau at 
the Sault Ste. Marie, or transacted the yearly business at their 
castellated rendezvous at Grand Portage, now in Lake county, 
Minnesota. The domination of this power along the great 
lake was marked by despotism, yet full of adventure, cour- 
age and dissolute ways. Far away from the eye of authority 
and civilization, while they gathered rich cargoes of furs, they 
sowed the seeds of debauchery and wrong. The X. Y. com- 
pany was organized in 1798, at Montreal, by strong men, with 
capital, who had been excluded from the organization of the 
former company. Great jealousy ensued, followed by violence 
and even murder, on the shores of the distant lake. Finally, 



LAKE superior; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 341 

the companies coalesced* and hid in oblivion their wars and 
their wickedness. Then followed the war of interests, and 
the war in fact, between the advancing posts of the Hudson^s 
Bay company towards the north. Open robbery, violence 
and bloodshed, marked this commercial competition. They 
destroyed each other^s posts and shot each other^s agents, and 
thus war raged on our northern confines long years before 
there was a white settlement in Southern Minnesota. While 
this feud thus continued in the wilderness with unabated 
fury, it was carried to the courts and to the British parlia- 
ment, and finally a compromise and a second consolidation 
of both of these great fur interests was effected on the 26th 
day of March, 1821. 

THE FIRST SAILORS OF LiLKE SUPERIOR — A WONDERFUL RACE — 

THE yOYAGEURS; 

But we must pause here to notice a body of men, brought 
into action by the fur companies, who rapidly became a dis- 
tinctive class, and who have a history, filled with romantic 
daring. The voyageurs and courieurs des bois ♦were the 
pioneers of the commerce of Lake Superior. They were the 
fearless men who brought the companies^ supplies along the 
entire chain of lakes and rivers, from Montreal to the Grand 
Portage, on the north shore of Lake Superior, in large open 
canoes; or more daring still, had gathered thecompany^s furs 
along the distant posts on the Saskatchewan and Peace rivers, 
and even from Lake Athabasca and Great Slave Lake itself, 
and brought them through wild lakes, along roaring rivers, 
and portaging over rocks and around cataracts to the Grand 
Portage. This was a year's work. They assembled annually 
at the Grand Portage, the first of each July, to interchange 
furs and supplies. Here the accounts were settled, and the 
pelts assorted, pressed and packed. Then there was a grand 
frolic; gallons of rum were issued, the violin and bagpipe 
pealed forth enlivening strains; the banqueting hall, which 
was sixty feet long, groaned with game and fish, and they 
danced till morning. Not less than fifteen hundred people, 
of both sexes, were assembled at these gatherings; and one 



; 

342 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

hundred large, and two hundred small canoes, were in the navy 
yard at that time. Such were the scenes of activity and life 
on the shore of Lake Superior at the very time of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. But the voyageurs who comprised the 
the essential portion of this assemblage, were a wonderful 
body of men. Mostly French or hrules (half-breeds), swarthy, 
sun-burnt, hardy and daring, they were the heroes of the 
paddle, and for long years their jocular songs were heard, and 
their fleets of canoes were to be seen along the rugged shores 
of the great lake. They were great singers, and sang songs 
to the music of the paddle. At a later date they annually 
performed the almost incredible feat of crossing and recross- 
ing the continent in birch-bark canoes, in a single season. 
They would start in a canoe, from Columbia, on the Pacific 
ocean, in April, and threading rivers and lakes, shooting 
rapids, and portaging over mountains, without halt, in fair or 
foul weather, sleepins: but four hours in the twenty-four, 
would reach Fort William, on Lake Superior, by the 1st of 
July, with all the regularity of a steamboat; and returning 
across the continent, with equal precision, arrive at Fort 
George, at the mouth of Columbia river, by the 20th of 
October. They were indeed a wonderful race, jocular, full of 
song and stories of wild adventure. They were a lively, 
fickle, polite, reckless and immoral set. Those were the days 
of easy virtue on the North Shore. Said one of these men, 
long past seventy years of age : "I could carry, paddle, walk 
and sing with any man T ever saw. I have been twenty-four 
years a canoe man, and forty-one years in service; no portage 
was ever too long for me. Fifty songs could I sing. I have 
saved the life of ten voyageurs. Have had twelve wives and 
six running dogs. I spent all my money in pleasure. Were 
I young again, I should spend my life the same way over. 
There is no life so happy as a voyageur's life." 

advent of american infuence upon the lake under astor 

— franklin's treaty. 

But to resume the current of history concerning the great 
lake. It is now 215 years since the French established them- 
selves at the foot of the basin of Lake Superior. They floated 



LAKE SUPERIOR; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 343 

the Jleur de iys^ and made known the power of the grand 
monarque^ till Quebec fell before the intrepid Wolf, in 1759. 
From that time till the final triumph of the American arms 
in the treaty of 1783, the British flag floated over the waters 
and shores of this inland sea. But the treaty of the sagcxious 
Franklin, to whom we are wholly indebted for our interest 
in Lake Superior, was not yet an accomplished fact. Up to 
the war of 1S12, both sides of the Sault Ste. Marie, so tar as 
trade was concerned, was still under British control. The 
British traders told the Indians that it still belonged to Eng- 
land, and that the result of the war of 1812 would leave the 
control of the entrance to the great lake in their possession. 
But that war left the title where Franklin left it in 1783. 
It ran the boundary through the Straits of St. Mary to the 
mouth of Pigeon river. And, in 1816, congress enacted that 
British traders and capital should be excluded from the 
American lines. This was the death-knell to the power of 
British traders on the lake. Then it was that John Jacob 
AsTOR^ a German furrier, of New York, availing himself of 
this congressional act, went to Montreal and bought all the 
posts and factories of the Northwest Qompany, south of the 
line Franklin had established. The American Fur company, 
under Astor, now came to supersede the old order of things 
around Lake Superior. Astor filled the country with 
American lads from Vermont. Under the Astor influence 
the shores of Superior became gradually Americanized. With 
this undertaking Astor also associated his grand dream of 
rendering tne shores of the Pacific a tributary empire. 

ASTOR'S agents, crooks, STUART — THE DECAY OF THE FUR 

COMPANIES. 

AsTOR selected his agents with a sagacity which indicated 
his judgment of men. Foremost among these was Ramsey 
Crooks,* father of Col. Wm. Crooks, of St. Paul. Crooks 

1. Rambey Crooks was born In Greenock, Scotland, Jan. 2, 1787, and came to 
America when sixteen years old, engaging In mercantile life at Montreal. In 
1805 he entered the service of Mr. Gillespie, an Indian trader, and proceeded 
to St. Louis, then a frontier village. His energy, shrewdness and courage soon 
gave him a reputation as a trader, and he penetrated all parts of the Missour 
Valley in search of furs, enduring great hardships and braving many dangers 
In 1800 he engaged in the service of Johx Jacob Astor, and for years led a 



344 MUOTESOTA mSTORIGAL OOLLECTIONS. 

was AsTOR^s confidential agent and general manager in the 
West. He was cultivated and accomplished, speaking French 
like a Frenchman, and universally admired for his talents. 
Associated with Cbooks was Robert Stuart, another Scotch- 
man of fine ability and force of character. These men intro- 
duced a new class of traders. Their headquarters were at La 
Pointe, on an island at the head of the lake. Among the 
new traders under Crooks, was Charles H. Cakes, a youth 
from Vermont. Oakes came to the Sault Ste. Marie in May, 
1822, as an independent trader. Two years afterward he 
entered the service of the American Fur company, and re- 
mained with it till it retired from business, having been in 
the trade a period of nearly a quarter of a century. Associ- 
ated with Oakes, was Charles Wm. Wolf Borup, a young 
Dane from Copenhagen, who came to America, and finally to 
the wilds of the Northwest to seek his fortune. He was 
genial, accomplished and polite, and remained with the com- 
pany till it ceased to do business. Associated with these was 
Clement H. BEAULiEAn, now at the White Earth agency. 
There are many others whose active lives were spent in the 
fur trade which centered around the great lake, and whose 
history is filled with wild adventures and romantic incidents, 
sach as Willl^m Morrison, known among the Indians as 
"White Bear;" Hon. Allan Morrison, William Aitkin, 
Lyman Warren, John H. Fairbanks, Col. J. D. Cruttbn- 
DEN and Julius Austrian. In 1847 the American Fur com- 
pany closed its business and sold its interests to Chouteau 
(Jr.) & Co., of St, Louis, who were represented by H. M. Rice. 
About the same time Crooks, Borup and Oakes organized 

life ot adventure and penl among the Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast, the 
bare narration of which would fill volumes. lu 1817 he became a partner in the 
American Fur company, and until 1830 resided mostly In New York, superin- 
tending the purchase of goods for the company. In 1834 Mr. Abtob sold out 
his interest to Mr. Crooks, and he was elected President of the company. In 
1842 reverses compelled the company to make an assignment, and Mr. Crooks, 
who was then a wealthy man, was reduced to limited means. He engaged In 
the fur business in New York, and died in that city June 6, 18S9. Mr. Crooks 
was well known to all the early fur traders and pioneers of Minnesota. He had 
traveled over every portion of this state while it was a wilderness, and knew 
its topography intimately. All the Indian tribes of the Northwest knew 
Ramsey Crooks, and his Influence over them was powerful. Black Hawk 
said that "he was the best friend the Indians ever had." W. 



LAKE STJPERIOB; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 345 

the Northern Fur company, which continued in existence 
for little over a year, when its property and eifects passed 
by purchase into the hands of the St. Louis company, under 
Rice. In 1849, Rick retired from the trade, and the fur in- 
terests of Lake Superior, no longer represented by a power- 
ful and controlling company, soop. ceased to maintain its 
ancient supremacy, and has gradually melted away before the 

advent of new interests. « 

r 

THE AMERICAN FLAG FIRST FLOATS AT SUPERIOR — TREATIES 

CEDINQ ITS SHORES. 

June 16th, 1820, Lewis Cass first hoisted the American flag 
at the entrance of Lake Superior. At that time, Cass made the 
first treaty with the Indians ceding territory connected with 
its shores. The first cession was a piece of country sixteen 
miles square, fronting on the Ste. Marie river. The Indian 
title still existed around the entire lake. The great treaty at 
Prairie du Chien, Aug. 19, 1825, only settled boundaries, be- 
tween tribes, and the subsequent treaty of Aug. 5, 1826, grant- 
ed the United States the right to search for and carry away 
metals or minerals along its shores. This treaty first opened 
the south shore to commercial activity. A treaty was made 
October 14, 1842, by Robert Stuart,^ commissioner, ^t La 
Pointe, in which the Chippewas ceded all the land on the 
south shore of the lake, from Fond du Lac, to near what is 
now the city of Marquette. August 2, 1847, J. A.Verplauck 
and Hekry M. Rice, concluded a treaty at Fond du Lac, by 
which the Chippewas ceded all their land west of the lake, 
south of Crow Wing river and north of the Watab, and be- 
yond the Mississippi. And finally, September 13th, 1854, 

1 Robert Stuakt was born in Scotland, probably about i;85, and came to 
America while a youth, settling In Brooklyn, N. Y., where his handsome person, 
intelligence and energy won him many friends, and he secured employment 
with the American Fur Company, of which he became one of the most valuable 
agents. He married a Miss Sullivan, of Broolclyn, and had several children. 
He was for many years in charge of the American Fur Company's business at 
Mackinac, a post of great responsibility, which he managed with much ability. 
Retiring from the fur trade with a competency, in 1834, he settled at Detroit. He 
watf not long afterwards appointed U. S. Superintendent of Indian affairs for 
Michigan, in which capacity he made several important treaties. Mr. Stuaet 
died suddenly at Chicago a few years ago while on a visit there, sincerely 
mourned by a very large circle of friends. H. H. 8. 



346 MINKE30TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

the Chippewas, by a treaty at La Pointe, ceded all that land 
in Minnesota, known as the North Shore. This completed 
thp environment of the shores of the great lake, and perfected 
the transfer of title from its Chippewa possessors to the 
United States. The great Schoolcraft recounts, with patri- 
otic pride, the first appearance of American troops on the 
waters of Superior. They went from their station at Sault Ste^ 
Marie, to the treaty at Rrairie du Chien in 1825. Sixty men, 
with officers, a commissariat and medical department, started 
out in three great twelve-oar barges, four boats of subsistence 
and a fleet of canoes, with music and flags flying; and the 
fleet, stretching out for miles, he declai*es, was a most noble 
and imposing spectacle. Never before had the power of the 
government been exhibited on the waters of Lake Superior. 
For eighteen days they coasted along its romantic shores. 
The weather was fine, the scenery grand, and everywhere the 
Indians came in canoes to witness the imposing spectacle. 

These treaties with their grand results, close the early his- 
tory of Lake. Superior. From that time onward, it belongs 
to commerce and civilization. For two centuries it had 
been the scene of wild adventure and romantic hazard. Re- 
ligious enthusiasm first gave these bright waters to the world, 
and' the great fur companies afterwards held them with 
baronial power. In the deep recesses of its bays and woods, 
some of the largest corporations the world has yet seen, fought 
their battles for supremacy. We have here endeavored to 
rescue from oblivion some of the scenes of the long ago, so 
that the early history of this superb lake might not wholly 
perish. 

EARLY COMMERCE OF THE LAKE — HISTORY OF SHIP CANAL AT 

THE SAULT 8TE. MARIE. 

The advent of the first vessels on the lake is not wholly 
lost in obscurity. Carver, in his journal, says that the 
French had a small schooner there when he crossed the lake, 
in 1776. Harmon relates that the Northwest company had 
built a small vtssel before his arrival, which was in June, 
1800. Henry records that he built a sloop of forty tons, in 
1770, for his trade upon the lake. These are the earliest ves- 



LAKE SUPERIOR; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 347 

sels to which any reference is made in any written memori- 
als. Some idea of the extent of the canoe commerce along 
its shores may be gathered from the statement of HARicoiir, 
who records that he met in the summer of 1800 no Ipss than 
100 canoes in one fleet, loaded with furs, bound for the Sault 
Ste. Marie. He again records that he met thirty canoes and 
300 men on the first day of June, 1800. Henry records that 
he met forty canoes on Pigeon river, loaded with furs from 
Athabasca Lake and bound for Grand Portage. The only 
commerce of the great lake since its discovery, was that in 
pelts. Schoolcraft relates, in his journal, that on the 9th 
day of November, 1833, "wheat in bulk and flour in bags 
and barrels were brought down from St. Joseph's, through 
the straits of Michigan. Beef and wheat had been brought 
the season before." This is the first record made of the 
shipping of native products, other than pelts, from any of the 
upper lakes. But a great commerce could never flourish on 
Lake Superior till a great natural obstacle was removed. 
The St. Mary river is the key to Lake Superior. Tl:ere are 
rapids in this river from the level of one lake to that of the 
other, of 22 feet. The removal of the obstacle was a matter 
of early consideration, and in 1837 Gov. Masok, oi Michigan, 
under the authority of the legislature, authorized the first 
survey of a proposed canal. The Hon. H. M. Rice, of St. Paul, 
then a young man, took part in this preliminary survey. 
The state of Michigan applied to the general government for 
a grant of lands to aid in this work, and finidly, after much 
opposition, a grant of 750,000 acres was made in 1852. Eras- 
Tus Corning and Joseph Fairbanks were the contractors, and 
finished the work May 21, 1855. The lands received by the 
contractors embraced some of the localities now occupied by 
the richest copper mines, and were sold for immense sums. 
The insufficiency of the original canal soon became apparent, 
and this induced the state of Michigan, by a unanimous vote 
of her legislature, to cede the canal to the United States, 
which was done in 1868. The general government has near- 
ly completed a much larger canal by the side of the first, at 
an expense of about $3,000,000, so that there will be two 



848 KINNSSOTA HISTOKICAL COLLECTIONS. 

outlets to expedite the transit of Tessels. The Canadians 
greatly desire a canal on their side, where the distance is 
much shorter than on the American. They have estimated 
the cost, in their Blue Book, at $550,000. Such a canal would 
render complete, Ganada^s great canal system, really the great- 
est in the world. It should be noted that Harmon^s Journal 
records the fact that even in the year 1800, the Northwestern 
Fur Company here made a ruda canal, capable of floating 
large loaded canoes without breaking bulk. But no eye can 
foresee, or pen predict, the swelling commerce from a double 
empire — the British and American — ^in the rapid progress of 
events yet destined to pass over these inland seas, in its march 
to the ocean. 

LAKE SURVEYS, TIDES AKD WATER-LEVELS. 

But this growing commerce on so vast an inland sea has 
pressed itself upon the eye of the general government. So 
early as 1841, under the secretary of war, an annual appro- 
priation was begun, and since continued, looking to th ; com* 
plete survey of these lakes. The topography, hydrography, 
complete triangulation, soundings, observations of winds, 
tides, survey of harbors, level of lakes, and all other things 
necessary to a perfect scientific knowledge of the field obser- 
vation, has been methodically executed under the able control 
of Gen. C. B. Comstock, of the engineer corps of the army. 
His annual reports upon the '*Surveysof the North and North- 
western Lakes,^* comprise a series of volumes which illustrate 
the accuracy of the methods and the completeness of the sys- 
tem of the government surveys, and reflect distinguished 
honor upon the professional skill of those engaged in the 
work. The charts which are the result of these labors, furnish 
the sailor with correct guides, and science has been enriched 
with accurate researches. We find that the great lake, ocean- 
like, has a solar and lunar tide, which was first observed by 
Captain (late General) Meade, while stationed at Superior, in 
1860. Self-registering tide-guages have since been established, 
and positive results secured. This seeming tide was first 
attributed to what was known as a prevalent ^^lake breeze;*^ 



LAKE SUPKBIOR; ITS HISTOBY, ETC. 849 

but science has established a regular flux and reflux wave, 
directly referable to solar and lunar influences. The average 
rise and fall every twenty-four hours, is the fourteen hundredth 
part of a foot, with a maximum tide, at new and full moon, of 
twenty-eight hundredths of a foot. There are great changes 
in the water-levels of all the lakes. This phenomenon is 
wholly dependent on the annual fall of water on the water- 
sheds of the lake basins, and the comparative evaporation 
caused by the intensity of the solar heat. Temporary fluctu- 
ations are accounted for by the theory of lake winds. 

HEIGHT OF THE LAKE ABOVE OCEAIT TIDE. 

The height of all the lakes above mean ocean-tide has at 
last been definitely determined. A line of water-levels from 
the beach-mark made at Albany, New York, by the Coast 
Survey, fixing the mean ocean tide, has been run to Oswego, 
on Lake Ontario, and thence a line of levels has been run from 
beach-mark to beach-mark, through all the lakes to Duluth. 
The heights of the lakes have thus been established with pre- 
cision. Lake Superior is 602 feet above mean tide at New 
York. Lake Huron is 582 feet, and the difference of level 
between Lakes Michigan and Huron, is only two-tenths of a 
foot. Lake Erie is 573 feet, and Lake Ontario is 247 feet above 
ocean-tide. It is interestiag in this connection, to note that 
the ordinary level of the Mississippi at St. Paul, is 80 feet 
above the level of Lake Superior. This is upon the authority 
of D. C. Shepabd, Esq., railroad engineer. Lake Itasca, the 
source of the Mississippi, according to Nicollet, is 1,075 feet 
above the sea. It is singular to relate that we have no water- 
levels above St. Paul, except those that were given us by that 
eminent Frenchman and scientist, in his memorable visit to 
this region is 1836. 

GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC EXAMINATIONS OF LAKE SUPEBIOB. 

A region so filled with such attractive physical features, 
has drawn to it men of science from all countries. Canada 
has more than once sent hither her geologists. Dr. Douglass 



350 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Houghton, naturalist, prosecuted scientific observations there 
in 1845, for the general government, and was drowned, while 
in the discharge of his duties, October 13, 1845. Owen and 
Norwood, also United States geologists, explored its coasts 
in 1847-8. Charles Whittlesey made geological recon- 
noissances in 1848, 1859 and 1864, the result of which was 
published in Ohio, in 1866. The celebrated Agassiz was there 
with a party of professors and students during the summer of 
1848, and gave the world a volume filled with his observations. 
Foster and Whitney examined its iron and copper formar 
tions in 1851. A. H. Hanchett was there in 1864, and made 
a report upon its geological features to the Governor of this 
State. Finally, in pursuance of a plan for the complete geologi- 
cal history of Minnesota, Prof. N. H. Winchell, of the State 
University, during the past summer, has made a complete 
geological reconnoissance of the north shore, preparatory to a 
more minute examination yet to follow. It should also be 
recorded that Lieut.; Bayfield, a scientific officer of the British 
navy, in 1822 made careful surveys of the lake, and his charts 
were in use till they were superseded by the more elaborate 
delineations of the United States engineers. 

the first settlements — THE ADYZH^ OP RAILROADS, 

Of the first settlements on its shores, the forts of the old 
traders take precedence in point of time. First was that of 
the Sault Ste. Marie, about 1670; in 1679, Capt. J. DeLuth, 
as he signed himself, built a trading post at the mouth of 
Pigeon river, the site of which I have seen; in 1692, Fron- 
tenac sent Sieur Le Sueur to build a fort at La Pointe; about 
1760 the grand rendezvous at Grand Portage was established; 
in 1775 there was a large fort at the head of Nepigon Bay. A 
little later Moss Fort, in James Bay, and Fort William, on 
the Eamnistiqua river, were in operation. La Pointe and 
Fond du Lac were old trading posts when Portland, on the 
main shore, and Duluth, on Minnesota Point, were started 
respectively in 1855 and 1856, These were consolidated the 
ensuing year. The first occupants oi the soil were Wm. Net- 
TLETON, Orrin Rice and J. B. Culver. There were early 



LAKE superior; ITS HISTORY, ETC. 351 

settlements in the iron and copper regions, which I have not 
time to mention. The next epoch to mark the new develop- 
ment, was the advent of railroads. The [first to touch these 
waters was the Michigan Peninsula railroad, from Oreen Bay 
to Marquette, in 1867. The Lake Superior & Mississippi 
railroad was finished August 1st, 1870. This connected the 
Mississippi and the great lake, opening a new artery to com- 
merce, and stimulated the growth of Duluth. But a new 
spur was given to enterprise at the head of the lake by the 
inception in 1864, of the great trans-continental project of ' 
the Northern Pacific Railway, with which enterprise the name 
of Jay Gooke is forever identified. Associated with this impe- 
rial project, and coeval in origin, is the great Canadian Pacific 
Railway, whose point of departure from the lake is at Fort 
William or Thunder Bay. I was present, three summers ago, 
when the first iron was laid on this second enterprise, which 
is to connect the great fresh sea with the Pacific Ocean. 

Thus we have traced the successive epochs of development, 
from our first knowledge of the lake as a Chippewa sea in the 
far off solitudes of the wilderness, till advancing commerce 
seeks to link its destiny with the two great oceans of the 
world, 

AXTIQUITY OF SETTLEMENTS ON THE LAKE. 

We are accustomed to associate Fort Snelling and Mendoj^a 
with our notions of the earliest settlement by white men, on 
the soil of Minnesota. But in 1692 Frontenao sent an officer 
to build a fort and establish a French garrison at La Pointe. 
It was built on the south end of the isl^d, and a garrison of 
thirty soldiers kept there, 130 years before Fort Snelling was 
ordered established by the secretary of war. Grand Portage 
was a commercial emporium, full of trade, shops, style and 
fashion, with drinking establishments and police officers, the 
very day John Hancock signed the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. Fathers JoauES and Raimbault were holding up the 
cross to the natives at Sault Ste. Marie, on the shores of the 
great lake, five years before Elliot had yet preached to the 
Indians dwelling within six miles of Boston harbor. Mar- 



352 MINNESOTA HISTORICAXi COLLECTIONS. 

QUETTE had saluted the ''Father of Waters" within the terri- 
tory of Minnesota, a hundred years before the battle of 
Bunker Hill. While Louis Fourteenth was on his throne, 
Cardinal Richelieu, from his cabinet, directed those footsteps 
which first touched the soil of Minnesota. 

It is to the waters of our great sea, that the people of our 
state must look for the memorials of the white man's first 
impress upon their soil. If we have any of the qualities of 
autiqueness they come to us from the shores of Lake Superior. 
. Whea Nineveh flourished and Palmyra yet stood upon the 
plains, men were fashioning copper on the shores of the 
northern lake. And it is within something more than tradi- 
tion that a mighty naval engagement took place near the 
Apostle Islands, in which a hundred canoes were engaged^ 
and which dyed its waters with blood, 160 years before Peb^ 
BY^s victory on Lake Erie. Indeed, the French missionaries 
were building the altars of their God at the Sault 3te. Marie, 
at a period nearly coeval with the landing of the Pilgrims at 
Plymouth Rock. 

ITS SUPERB SCENEBY— GALLERY OF PICTUBE8. 

There are more splendid pictures in the scenery of the 
north shore of Lake Superior, than are catalogued in the gal- 
leries of the world. There is not the dizzy glory of the 
Yosemite, but in these wild, irregular rocks, forever washed 
by the waves of this crystal sea, nature seems to rise above 
herself in her incomparable and infinite variety. As you 
enter from the east, through a gate-way, worthy of the 
grandest lake on the globe, vast Laurentian masses, hoary with 
age, salutes your coming. Gapes Gros and Iroquois, bold 
warders of the portals of the lake, lift their massive scalps of 
northern sienite a thousand feet in the air. They stand higher 
and grander than the famous pillars of Hrbcules which guard 
the entrance to the Mediterranean sea. For days and weeks 
you may paddle in your light canoe, along shores with 
dark clifis of basaltic trap, now sterile and fire-swept, and 
again wooded to the water^s brink with balsam, fir and birch. 
Tou pass innumerable bays, wild, fantastic indentations, 



LAKE superior; ITS HISTORY, BIO. 353 

romantic promontories, and creeks and rivers rushing fiercely 
from superb cascades, under the shadow of great rocks. There 
is no limit to the ever varied scene. Here you note the ice 
abrasions, where great storms have hurled icy batteries, 
through centuries, and chiseled the rocks of the rugged 
shores into rude architectural resemblances, or worked out 
those weird caves, which we find along the Palisades, like 
Fingal in the Hebrides. 

Its bays are spacious and picturesque. Nepigon Bay is the 
largest, deepest and most beautiful harbor on Lake Superior, 
and perhaps in the world. Its front is barred from the stormy 
waves of the sea by great islands, among wbich St. Ignace 
rises 1,300 feet in height. It would take a week to explore 
the wild recesses of this rock-bound bay. Next in beauty 
and size to Nepigon is Thunder Bay, with its dark cliffs of 
basaltic trap and grand island scenery. Here the navies of 
the world might fioat in security beneath the shadows of 
Thunder Cape and Pie Island. Near by you find Silver Islet, 
which, like the fabled island of Monte Ghristo, is veined with 
fabulous wealth. It was once hawked upon the streets of 
London as a trifle. Since then it has produced more silver 
thai! any equal area upon the globe. Tben there are the 
Palisades, basaltic cliffs, where woe betides the mariner in 
storms. Beyond we find Agate Bay, named for that Sicilian 
river, where the threaded pebbles were first found. Bushels 
of these delicately tinted and cloud-blended stones have here 
been gathered, and are now adorning rings and seals, cups 
and handles, the world over. There, too, is Isle Royal, with 
its jeweled fingers running into the sea, tbe gift of Franklik. 
Its ridges of amygdaloidal trap are thick with copper. Away 
to the south are the Pictured Rocks, those wonders of geology. 
But we cannot linger amid these attractive scenes. 

its GRAKD physical features — THE OFFICES IT PERFORMS. 

Let us momentarily consider some of its physical features 
and facts connected therewith. Consider it as a vast sea of 
fresh water, lying in the great hollow of solid igneous rocks. 
It has a length of 360 miles, and in its greatest width 140 



354 MIKKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

miles. It covers an area of 32,000 square miles. It possesses 
a coast line of 1,500 miles, and has a mean depth of 1,000 
feet. While its surface rises to a height of 602 feet above the 
level of the sea, there are portions of its bed more than 600 
feet below the level of the Atlantic. In great storms its waves 
will rise to a height of 20 feet. The purity of its diaphanous 
waters is without a rival in the world. In a breezeless sea 
you can distinctly see objects at a depth of 75 and 100 feet. 
The temperature of the water is always cold, and at a mean 
depth of eight feet is as frigid as at mid-winter. Every drop of 
water in Lake Superior is an emblem of purity. Hence its 
health-inspiring conditions through all the summer months. 
Ozone pervades it like a second atmosphere, and more and 
more its rugged shores aud castellated islands will be sought 
by those in the pursuit of health and pleasure. Among the 
great offices of this bright sisterhood of lakes, are those to 
regulate the flow of the water and furnish moisture for inland 
rains. But a minimum portion of the waters of the in- 
numerable rivers which empty themselves into this great 
basin, are discharged at the outlet of Sault Ste. Marie. I 
have myself counted 44 creeks and rivers pouring into it be- 
tween Duluth and the international line, a distance of Only 
152 miles. When we consider the number and size of all its 
affluents through a circuit of 1,500 miles, we can form some 
idea of the vast volume of waters which it receives. Were not 
this vast mass of inflowing waters bottled up at the season 
of dissolving snows by this great lake, they would break 
through every barrier, and carry ruin and destruction in their 
paths. Here the mighty reservoir holds it in abeyance, and 
meantime the work of evaporation goes on, which furnishes 
rain to an empire. How great the evaporation we may 
judge, when we remember that it has been determined that 
the Red Sea evaporates a layer of eight feet of water annually. 
The abundant fish which swarm in its pure waters, have that 
sweetness and solidity, which scarcely make them second to 
the inhabitants of the salted seas. 

We may consider, with no idle imagination, that the very 
bottom of this lake is paved with wealth. The great iron 
ridges of the Peninsula of Michigan run into, and are lost in 



LAKE SUPEBIOB; 1X8 HISTORY, ETC. 355 

the waters of the lake. The great copper strata of the south 
shore dip towards the north and disappear beneath the lake 
itself. They re-appear in the rich amygdaloidal hills of Isle 
Royal. So that all that vast intervening bottom of lake 
basin must be veined with copper. The argentiferous veins 
of Silver Islet carry their jeweled wealth down into the sea, 
and are lost beneath the waves of the lake. I have seen a 
score of silver lodes which run into, and are lost beneath these 
waters. Pieces of free silver have been picked up on the 
north shore for a hundred years, which have evidently been 
torn by the action of the ice, in storms, from their argent 
home in the bottom of the lake. So that it is not solely 
imaginative, when we say that the floors of this translucent 
sea are strewn with precious metals. 

Thus have I feebly attempted to present you the bolder 
outlines of the history of this wonderful sea, from the Aztec 
twilight to that dawn of history when the captive Jesuit, 
JoouES, in his wanderings, cut the name '* Jssus" on the trees 
of its shores, as if taking possession of the country in the 
name of his God, along through two centuries of daring ad- 
venture, till we have brought it to the time when we our- 
selves are co-partners in its destiny. And while I have en- 
deavored to rescue from oblivion some of the scenes of ^^the 
long ago,^* I have also sought, through its superb physical 
features, to impress upon you that Superior, in all its attri- 
butes, is to be considered indeed the Queen of Lakes. 



MEMORIAL NOTICES OF Rev. GIDEON H. 

POND. 



BY MESSRS. RIGGS, WILLIAMSON AND SIBLEY. 



I. NOTE BY THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION. 

On Sunday, January 20, 1878, Rev. Gideon H. Pond, one of 
of the oldest residents of Minnesota, or of what is now known 
as Minnesota, died at his home in Oak Grove, near Blooming- 
ton, Hennepin Go. In noticing the death of this pioneer of 
civilization, whose name must always have an honored place 
in the history of our State, the Minneapolis Tribune says: 

*^ We hope the Historical Society of Minnesota will appoint 
some one to prepare a memoir for their Transactions, of the 
man who unselfishly worked in Hennepin County for nearly 
torty-four years, for the benefit of humanity." This would 
have been done, had not the very full, carefully prepared, and 
generously conceived tributes to his memory by his life-long 
associates, Messrs. Rioos, Williamson, Sibley, and others, 
published soon after his death, so fully covered the entire 
subject, that it seemed unnecessary for any one else to go 
over it again, as well as precluded the possibility of any one 
else doing It so well. The Committee on Publication have, 
therefore, deemed their duty best done by simply giving the 
eulogies referred to, just as they were written; the names of 
the writers being a guaranty of the completeness and correct- 
ness of their respective biographical sketches of Mr. Pond. 



MEMORIAL irCTICES OP REV. OIDEON H. POND. 357 

In the death of Mr. Pond, the Minnesota Historical Society 
lost one of its most valuable members. With his associates, 
Messrs, Williamson and Riggs, he joined it soon after its 
organization, and constantly labored to promote its objects 
and usefulness. The earlier Collections of the Society, Vol. 1, 
(1852) and again in Vol. 3, (1867) contain valuable and elabor- 
ate papers by him on Indian mythology, and customs. No 
less important,'as'preserving the knowledge of these subjects, 
are his published or MS. sermons or discourses, his contribu- 
tions to the Dakota Friend^ of which he was editor, printed 
in St. Paul in 1850-52, half in English, half in Dakota, and 
articles contributed to the public press from time to time, or 
to church periodicals.^ We can only regret that one who 
could so well and accurately record this information, did not 
write more on those topics; but other and pressing duties left 
him but little opportunity to do so, despite his proverbial indus- 
try and perseverance. He never declined any duty assigned 
him by the Society, and never relaxed his interest in it, but sent 
contributions to its cabinet of Indian Curiosities, from time 
to time, and visited it whenever convenient, the last time but 
a brief period before his death; and he was then planning 
still more labors in .its behalf. His death leaves a vacancy 
in our ranks, which it will be impossible to fill, while his 
fidelity and readiness serves for a worthy example to his fellow 
members. 

Mr. Pond was a member of the first Territorial Legislature, 
»in 1849, and though, from his quiet and unobtrusive nature, 
he did not take a conspicuous part, he performed valuable 
service as a legislator, and impressed his associates with his 
candor and good judgment in all matters. His name is worthy 
to be enrolled among those who have contributed to shaping 
the policy and giving form to the laws and institutions of our 
commonwealth. 



1 On page 37 et seq of this volume (Part 1, Vol. III.) will be found some record 
of the valuable labors of Mr. Pond, In translating school books, religious works, 
hymnsi &c., into the Dakota tongue, to aid in the work of the mission. 



358 MINXESOTA HISTORICAL C0LLECTI0K8. 



II. SKETCH OF MR. POND'S LIFE, BY REV. 8. K. RIGG8 : PUBLISHED IN 
THE lAPI OATE (WORD-CARRIER) APRIL. 1878. 

Born and brought up in Litchfield county, in a town ad- 
joining Washington, Connecticut, Rev. George Bushnell 
visited that hill country in his youth, and was deeply im- 
pressed with the manifest and pervading religious element in 
the community. Taken there by a special Providence more 
than a quarter of a century ago, and enjoying the privilege 
of a visit in some of the families, it seemed to me that it had 
been a good place to raise men. This was on the line of the 
impression made upon me years before that. When I first, 
met, in the Land of the Dakotas, the brothers Samuel W. 
and GiDEOMT H. Pond, they were both over six feet high, and 
** seemed the children of a king.^^ 

In this hill town of Washington, on the 30th of June, 
1810, Gideon Hollister, the younger of the two brothers, 
was born« His parents were Elnathan Judson and Sarah 
Hollister Pond. Gideon was the fifth child, and so was 
called by the Dakotas Hakay, Of his childhood and youth, 
almost nothing is known to the writer. He had the advan- 
tage of a New England common-school education; perhaps 
nothing more. As he grew very rapidly, and came to the 
size and strength of a man early, he made a full hand in the 
harvest field at the age of sixteen. To this ambition to be • 
counted a man and do a man^s work, when as yet he should 
have been a boy, he, in after life, ascribed some of his infirm- 
ities. This ambition continued with him through life, and 
occasional overwork at least, undermined a constitution that 
might, with care and God's blessing, have continued to the 
end of the century. 

He came to the Land of the Dakotas, now Minnesota, in 
the spring of 1834. The older brother, Samuel, had come 
out as far as Galena, Illinois, in the summer previous. The 
pioneer minister of that country of lead, was Rev. Aratus 
Kent, who desired to retain Mr. Pond as an adjutant in his 
great and constantly enlarging work; but Mr. Pond had 



MEMORIAL mOTICES OF BEY. GIDEON H. POKD. 359 

heard of tlie Sioux or Dakotas, for whose souls no one cared, 
and, having decided to go to them, he sent for his brother 
Gideon to accompany him. 

When they reached Fort Snelling and bad made known 
their errand to the commanding ofiBcer of the post, Maj. 
Bliss, and to the resident , Indian agent, Maj. Taliafebbo, 
they received the hearty approval and co-operation of both, 
and the agent at once recommended them to commence work 
with the Dakotas of Lake Calhoun village, where some steps 
bad already been taken in the line of civilization. There, on 
the margin of the lake, they built their log cabin. Last 
summer Mr. Eing^s grand Pavilion, so called, was completed 
on the same spot, which gave occasion for Mr. Gideon H. 
Pond to tell the story of this first effort in that line : 

*' Just forty-three years previous to the occurrence above alluded to, on 
the same beautiful site, was completed a humble edifice, built by the 
hands of two inexperienced New Engrland boys, just setting out in life- 
work. The foundation stones of that hut were removed to make place 
for the present Pavilion, perchance compose a part of it. The;>ld struc- 
ture Was of oak logs, carefully peeled. The peeling was a mistake. 
Twelve feet by sixteen and eight feet high were the dimensions of the 
edifice. Straight poles from the tamarack grove w#t of the lake, formed 
the timbers of the roof, and the roof itself was of the bark of trees which 
grew on the bank of what is now called "Bassett*s Creek," fastened with 
strings of the inner bark of the bass-wood. A partition of small logs 
divided the house into two rooms, and split logs furnished material for a 
floor. The ceiling was of slabs from the old government saw mill, 
through the kindness of Msgor Bliss, who was in command of Fort 
Snellmg. The door was made of boards split from a log with an ax, 
having wooden hinges and fastenings, and was locked by pulling in the 
latch string. The single window was the gift of the kind-hearted Major 
Lawrence Taliafekro, United States Indian agent. The cash cost 
of the building was one shilling. New York currency, for nails used m 
and about the door. '*The formal opening** exercises, consisted in read- 
ing a secbon from the old book by the name of Bible, and prayer to Him 
who was its acknowledged author. The **banquet** consisted of mussels 
from the lake, flour and water. The ground was selected by the Indian 
chief of the Lake Calhoun band of Dakotas, Man-of-the-Skt, by 
which he showed good taste. The reason he gave for the selection was, 
that **from that point the loons would be visible on the lake.'* 

'*The old chief and his pagan people had their homes on the surface 
ot that ground, in the bosom of which now sleep the bodies of deceased 



360 MIKNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

ChristiaDs from the city of Minneapolis, the Lake Wood cemetery, over 
which these old eyes have witnessed, dangling in the night-breeze, many 
a Chippewa scalp, in the midiit of horrid chants, yells and wails, widely 
contrasting with the present stillness of that quiet home of those 

*Who sl<»ep the years away.' 

That hut was the home of the first citizen settlers of Hennepin county, 
perhaps of Minnesota, the first school room, the first house for divme 
worship, and the first mission station among the Dakota Indians.'* 

My own personal acqaaintance with Mr. Pond commenced 
in the summer of 1837. He was then, and had been for a 
year previous, at Lac qui Parle. In September my wife and 
1 joined that station, and the first event occurring after that 
which has impressed itself upon my memory was the marriage 
of Mr. PoMD and Miss Sarah Poage, sister of Mrs. Dr. Wil- 
liamson. This was the first marriage ceremony I had been 
called upon to perform; and Mr. Pokd signalized it by mak- 
ing a feast, and calling, according to the Savior^s injunction, 
'' the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind/^ And there 
was a plenty of such to be called in that Dakota village. 
They could not recompense him, but "he shall be recom- 
pensed at the resurrection of the just.'* 

Mr. Pokd had leng been yearning to see the inside of an 
Indian. He sometimes said he wanted to be an Indian, if 
only for half an hour, that he might know how an Indian 
felt and by what motives he could be moved. And so, when 
the early spring of 1838 came, and the ducks began to come 
northward, a half-dozen Dakota families started for Lac qui 
Parle to hunt and trap on the upper part of the Chippewa 
river, in the neighborhood of where the town of Benson now 
is. Mr. Pond went with them, and was gone two weeks. It 
was in the month of April, and the streams were flooded and 
the water was cold. There should have been enough of game 
easily obtained to feed the party well. So the Indians thought. 
But it did n.t prove so. A cold spell came on, the ducks 
disappeared, and Mr. Pond and his Indian hunters were re- 
duced to scanty fare, and sometimes they had nothing for a 
whole day. But Mr. Pond was seeing inside of Indians, and 
was quite willing to starve a ^ood deal in the process. How- 
ever, his stay with them, and their hunt for that time as well. 



MEMORIAL K0TICE8 OF BEY. GIDEOK H. POKD. 361 

was suddenly terminated, by the appearance of the Qjibwa 
chief, Hole-ik-the-Day, and ten men with him. They came 
to smoke the peace pipe, they said. They were royally 
feasted by three of the families, who killed their dogs to feed 
the strangers, who, in turn, arose in the night and killed the 
Dakotas. As God would have it, Mr. Pokd was not then 
with those three tents, and* so he escaT)ed. 

No one had started with more of a determination to master 
the Dakota language than Gideon H. PoiiiD. And no one of 
the older missionaries succeeded so well in learning to talk 
just like a Dakota. Indeed, he must have had a peculiar 
aptitude for acquiring language; for in these first years of 
missionary life he learned to read French and Latin and Greek, 
so that the second Mrs. Pokd writes: **When I came, and 
for a number of years, he read from the Greek Testament at 
our family worship in the morning. Afterward he used his 
Latin Bible, and still later his French Testament.'^ 

While Mr. PoiiiD was naturally ambitious, he was also 

peculiarly sensitive and retiring. When the writer was left 

with him at Lac qui Parle, Dr. Williamsok having gone to 

Ohio for the wmter, although so much better master of the 

Dakota than I was, at that time, he was unwilling to take 

more than a secondary part in the Sabbath services. ^^Dr. 

WiLMAMSOK and you are ministers,'* he would say. And 

even years afterward, when he and his family had removed to 

the neighborhood of Fort Snelling, and he and his brother 

had built at Oak Grove, with the people of their first love, 

GiDEOK H. could hardly be persuaded that it was his duty 

to become a preacher of the Gospel. I remember more thaji 

one long conversation I had with him on this subject. He 

seemed to shrink from it as a little child, although he was 
then thirty-seven years old. 

In the spring of 1847, he and Mr. Robebt Hopkins^ were 

1 BoBEBT Hopkins was born in Brown Co., O., May 23, 1816. He pui-sued his 
education for several years at South Hanover College, Indiana. He was mar- 
ried to Miss AGKS9 C. Johnston, in the winter of 1842-3, and the following 
spring they came to Lac qui Parle, as assistant missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M., 
and soon after formed a new station at Traverse des Sioux. He was ordained 
in 1848, by the Dakota Pi-esbytery. On July 4, 1861, he was drowned In the Min- 
nesota river at Traverse des Sioux, while bathing, after eight years faithful 
labor as a missionary. W. 



362 HIKKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECnOXS. 

licensed by the Dakota Presbytery, and ordained in the autumn 
of 1848. We were not disappointed in our men. Mr. Hop- 
kins gave evidence of large adaptation to the missionary 
work, but in less than three years he heard the call of the 
Master, and went up through a flood of waters. Mr. Pond, 
notwithstanding his hesitation in accepting the office, became 
a most acceptable and efficient and successful preacher and 
pastor. 

After the treaties of 1851, those lower Sioux were removed 
to the upper Minnesota. White people came in immediately, 
and took possession of those lands. Mr. Pokd elected to 
remain and labor among the white people. He very soon 
organized a church, which, in a short time, became a work- 
ing, benevolent church, for some years the banner Pres- 
byterian church of Minnesota in the way of benevolence. 
When in 1873, Mr. Pond resigned his pastorate, he wrote in 
his diary, " I have preached to the people of Bloomington 
twenty year 8.^' He received home mission aid only a few years. 

In the Spring of 1853, Mrs. Sabah Poaqe Pond departed, 
after a lingering illness of eighteen months, and left a ^^blessed 
memory." There were seven children by this marriage, all 
of which are living and have families of their own, but George, 
who died while in^the Lane Theological Seminary. In the 
summer of 1854, Mr. Pond was married to his second wife, 
Mrs. Agnes C. J. Hopkins, widow of Rev. Robbri Hopkins, 
The second Mrs. Pond brought ker three children, making the 
united family of children at that time ten. Six have been added 
since. And there are twenty-two grandchildren, six of whom 
are members of the church of Christ, together with all the 
children and their companions. Is not that a successful life? 
Counting the widowed mother and those who have come into 
the family by marriage, there are, I understand, just fifty who 
mourn the departure of the patriarch father. A little more 
than two score years ago he was one; and now, behold a 
multitude! 

Mary Frances Hopkins, who came into the family when 
a girl, and afterward married Edward R. Pond, the sod, 
writes thus: ^*To me he was as near an own father as it is 



MEMORIAL K0XICE3 OF BEY. GIDEON H. POND. 363 

possible for one to be who is so by adoption, and I shall always 
be glad I was allowed to call him ^father/ '^ 

The members of the Synod of Minnesota will remember, 
with great pleasure, Mr. Pokd's presence with them at their 
last meeting at St. Paul, in the middle of October. For some 
years past he has frequently been unable to be present. This 
time he seemed to be more vigorous than usual, and greatly 
entertained the Synod and people of St. Paul, with his terse 
and graphic presentation of some of the Lobd^s workings in 
behalf of the Dakotas. 

During the meeting I was quartered with Mrs. Governor 
Ramsey. On Saturday I was charged with a message to Mr. 
Pond, inviting him to come and spend the night at the Gov- 
ernor's. We passed a profitable evening together, and he and 
I talked long of the way in which the Lord had led us; of the 
great prosperity He had given us in our families and in our 
work. Neither of us thought, probably, that that would be 
our last talk this side the golden city. The next day, Sab- 
bath, he preached in the morning, for Rev. D. R. Bbeed, in 
the House of Hope, which, probably, was his last sermon. In 
the evening he was with us in the Opera House, at a meeting 
in the interest of Home and Foreign Missions. 

" His health gradually failed," Mrs. Pond writes, "from the 
time of his return from the Synod, though he did not call 
himself sick until the 11th of January, and he died on Sab- 
bath, the 20th, about noon." She adds: "His interest in 
the Indians, for whom he labored so long, was very deep, and 
he always spoke of them with loving tenderness, and often 
with tears. One of the last things he did was to look over 
his old Dakota hymns, revised by J. P. W. and A. L. R., and 
sent to him for his consent to the proposed alterations.'^ 

" His simple faith in the Lobd Jesus caused him all the 
time to live a life of self denial, that he might do more to 
spread the knowledge of Jesus' love to those who knew it 
not." The love of Ghbist constrained him, and was his ruling 
passion. 

Of his last days the daughter says: 

"He really died of consumption. The nine days he was 
42 



364 MIKKE80TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

confined to bed he suffered much, but his mind was mostly 
clear, and he was very glad to go. I think the summons was 
no more sudden to him than to Elijah. He was to the last, 
loving and trustful, brave and patient. To his brother Sam- 
uel, as he came to his sick bed, be said: ^ So we go to see 
each other die.^ Sometime before, he had visited Samuel 
when he did not expect to recover. ^ My struggles are over. 
The LoBD has taken care of me, and will take care of the rest 
of you. My hope is in the Lord,' he said. 

*^ Toward the last it was hard for him to converse, and he 
bade us no formal farewell. But the words, as we noted them 
down, were words of cheer and comfort: ^ You have nothing 
to fear for the present or the future.^ And so was given to 
him the victory over death, through faith in Jssus." 

Is that dying? He sleeps with his fathers. He has gone 
to see the King in His beauty, in a land not very far off. 

As loving hands ministered to Him in his sickness, loving 
hearts mourned at his death. On the Wednesday following, 
he was buried. A half dozen brothers in the ministry were 
present at his funerfkl, and fittingly, Mr. Breed, of the House 
of Hope, preached the sermon. 

This is success. 



IlL tribute TO MR. POND BY GEN. H. H. SIBLEY. IN THE PIONEER 

PRESS, JAN. 26, 1878. 

To the' Editor of the Pioneer Press : 

^^Within a week past your paper contained the announce- 
ment of the death of Rev. Gideon H. Pond, in Bloomington, 
in the county of Hennepin, and the notice was accompanied 
by a brief sketch of his career. Mr. Pond was so old a set- 
tler, and his connection with missionary work among the 
Sioux Indians so important, that his demise should not be 
regarded as an ordinary event in the history of our territory 
and state. 

When the writer came to this country m 1834, he did not 
expect to meet a single white man except those composing 
the garrison at Fort Snelling, a few government officials at- 
tached to the department of Indian affairs, and the voyageurs 
employed by the great fur company in its business. There 



MSHOBIAL KOXICRS OF REV. GIDEOX H. POND. 365 

was but one house, or rather log cabin, along the entire dis- 
tance of nearly 300 miles between Prairie du Ghien and St. 
Peters, now Mendota, and that was at a point below Lake 
Pepin, near the present town of Wabasha. What was his 
surprise then, to find that his advent had been preceded in the 
spring of the same 3^ear by two young Americans, Samubl 
W. Pond and Gideon H. Pond, brothers, scarcely out of their 
teens, who had built for themselves a small hut at the Indian 
village of Lake Calhoun, and had determined to consecrate 
their lives in the work of civilizing and Christianizing the 
wild Sioux. For many long years these devoted men labored 
in the cause, through manifold difficulties and discourage- 
ments, sustained by a faith that the seed sown would make 
itself manifest in Ood^s good time. The efforts then made to 
reclaim the savages from their mode of life, the influence of 
their blameless and religious walk and conversation upon 
those with whom they were brought in daily contact, and the 
self-denial and personal sacrifices required at their hands, are 
doubtless treasured up in a higher than human record. When 
the Indians were removed, in compliancf^ with treaty stipula- 
tions, the brothers accompanied them, ministering to their 
bodily and spiritual wants, and remaining with them until 
incessant labors and exposure, admonished the seli^acrificing 
pair of the fact that there was a limit to human endurance, 
beyond which it is not their duty to venture. There were 
other responsibilities resting upon them, demanding time and 
attention, so that after more than a quarter of a century passed 
in active missionary service with the Indians, they retired 
from the field, the Rev. S. W. Pond to Shakopee, and his 
brother Gideon toBloomington, where he became the pastor 
of a congregation, in charge of which he continued until dis- 
abled by physical infirmities. Gifted with an uncommonly 
fine constitution, the subject of this sketch met with an ac- 
cident in his early days, from the effects of which it is ques- 
tionable if he ever entirely recovered. He broke through 
tbe ice at Lake Harriet in the early part of the winter, and 
as there was no one at hand to afford aid, he only saved his 
life after a desperate struggle, by continuing to fracture the 
jrozen surface until he reached shallow water, when he sue-? 



366 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLECIIONS. 

ceeded in extricating himself. His long immersion and ex- 
haustiye efforts brought on a severe attack of pneumonia, 
which for many days threatened a fatal termination. 

The withdrawal of the brothers from missionary ground, by 
no means diminished their interest in the welfare of the ill- 
fated race to whom the best period of their lives had been 
devoted. Their leisure hours were spent in translating por- 
tions of the Bible and kindred works into the Dakota or 
Sioux language, with which both of them were as familiar as 
were the Indians themselves. Indeed, to them, and to their 
veteran co-laborers, Rev. T. S. Williamson and Rev. S. R. 
RiGGS, the credit is to be ascribed of having produced this 
rude and rich Dakota tongue to the learned world in a written 
and systematical shape, the lexicon prepared by their joint 
labors forming one of the publications of the Smithsonian 
Institute at Washington City, which has justly elicited the 
commendation of experts in philological lore, as a most valu- 
able contribution to that branch of literature. Furthermore^ 
the brothers continued to receive frequent visits from their 
straggling native friends, whose invariable demand for food 
and other necessaries, have been cheerfully met to the*extent 
of the slender resources of their entertainers. 

Both of the Messrs. Pond were regularly ordained Presby- 
terian ministers, but their love for their fellow men was by 
no means bounded by sectarian bias. Singularly modest and 
unobtrusive, the spirit of that charity which "suffereth long 
and is kind,^^ and * Vaunteth not itself ^^ dominated all their 
actions, and sepured for them the respect and attachment of 
many who were not in accord with their peculiar religious 
tenets. 

The surviving brother cannot but lament the departure of 
him with whom he was wont to hold loving counsel during 
many years, but with the immediate family of the deceased 
and his many friends, including all of the old settlers, he 
finds consolation in the reflection that the spirit of the de- 
parted has entered into that rest which is abiding and eternal. 

St. Paul, Jan. 25, 1878. 



HEHOBIAL KOTICES OF REV. OIDEDK H. POlflTD. 367 

IV. TRIBUTE TO MR. POND, BY REV. TH08. 8. WILLIAMSON, PUB- 
. LISHBD IN THE ** HERALD AND PRESBYTER." MARCH 20, 1878. 

{tev. GiDEOK H. PoKD was born in Litchfield coanty, Con- 
necticut, June 30, 1810. In May, 1S34, with his older brother, 
Samuel W., who survives him, he came to Fort Snelling, to 
make known the gospel to the Dakotas, then more wild than 
any of the Aborigines of our country to whom the gospel had 
ever been preached. The brothers were sons of a farmer; 
knew no language but Eaglish, and had no education except 
such as they had received from a pious mother, and in the 
common schools of Connecticut. They had heard that the 
Sioux near the Falls of Saint Anthony, were very poor and 
miserable, having no one to tell them of the Saviour so pre- 
cious to themselves, and came to help them. They had no 
promise or expectation of aid from any society or individual. 
They brought with them a good supply of clothing, part of 
which had been manufactured by their mother's own hands; 
some money, earned by their own, and their Bibles. By per- 
mission and advice of the Indian Agent, they built, with their 
own hands, a small log cabin near the Indian village at Lake 
Calhoun, now in the suburbs of Minneapolis. After plowing 
the fields of the Indians, with a yoke of oxen furnished by the 
agent, they made one for themselves, and raised a crop of corn, 
which went far toward supporting them for the year; all the 
time applying themselves diligently to the acquisition of the 
Dakota language, which had not then been reduced to a writ- 
ten form. To acquire, and reduce it to writing, with the lit- 
tle help they would get from an interpreter, required much 
patient study; but they accomplished it. 

In the summer of 1836, he, by invitation, went to Lac qui 
Parle, where the Indians were more inclined to receive instruc- 
tion, than those near Fort Snelling. For nearly three years, 
he there assisted us in learning the language, and in prepar- 
ing the first school books printed in it; in teaching the Dako- 
tas their religion and letters, and in building, and other secu- 
lar labors. There, also, he was married to his first wife, Miss 
Sarah Poaqe, who had come out as teacher, with her sister, 
Mrs. Williamson. 

In the spring of 1839, his brother and wife being left alone 



368 MINKESOTA HIET03I0AL OOLLBCTIONS. 

in the mission work near Fort Snelling, he returned to their 
assistance, and at the earnest request of the Indians, was 
appointed farmer for them under government, at a salary»of 
$600 a year. The duties of this office he discharged to the 
entire satisfaction of all concerned, till he felt it his duty to 
resign, that he might devote himself more entirely to laboring 
for the spiritual welfare of the Indians. 

In September, 1846, Dakota Presbytery was organized, and 
he and Robert Hopkins were received under its care as can- 
didates for the ministry. Next year they were licensed to 
preach, and in September, 184S, they were ordained. The 
field about him was, at that time, a very hard one in which 
to sow the good seed of the word. The medicine men among 
the Indians, a numerous and influential class, saw that the 
success of the gospel would destroy their craft. They were 
encouraged in their opposition by the Roman Catholic traders, 
who had great influence, and said (perhaps believing it true) 
that Christianity and civilization were very injurious to the 
Indians; and they made them believe that, in consequence of 
their listening to missionaries, several thousand dollars of 
their annuities were kept from them every year. Nothing 
was attempted against the persons of the missionaries, but 
the medicine men went from village to village, threatening 
with death any who listened to religious instruction, or suf- 
fered their children to attend school, and boasting that by 
their conjurations they had caused the death of several per- 
sons, whose deaths, there is good reason to suppose they had 
caused by poison. These persons had not professed to be 
Christians, but manifested an inclination to become such. It 
is not strange, that, in such circumstances, the number of 
converts was small. But the good seed was not all lost. 

In the autumn of 1862, many of these Sioux were impris- 
oned for warring against the United States. During the fol- 
lowing wintt;r the gospel was preached to them in prison^ and 
they gladly received it, saying, " The Messrs. Pond told us 
these things long ago. We knew they were true, but were 
afraid to obey; therefore evil has come upon us." By request. 
Rev. G. H. Pond visited and preached to them, and, on Feb- 
ruary 3, 1863, baptized more than fifty men, on profession of 



MEMORIAL NOTICES OF REV. GIDEON H. POND. 369 

tlieir faith in Jesus. Several of these have since been ruling 
elders, and one, at the time of his death, was a licensed preacher. 

But Bro. Pond's labors were not confined to the red men. 
The Presbyterian Church, organized in Fort Snelling in 1835, 
by the removal of all the officers and most of the members, 
had become nearly extinct. By his labors it was resuscitated 
and re-organized in 1849, and, to be more central for the 
members, the place of meeting was transferred to Little Falls 
Creek, where he preached regularly for several years. After 
Minneapolis, west of the Mississippi, began ta be settled, he 
preached there, and gathered the first Presbyterian Church in 
that city. When, in consequence of having sold the land, 
the Dakotas were compelled to leave the neighborhood, he 
would have chosen to go with or follow them, but the cir- 
cumstances of his family did not admit of it; and from that 
time he labored chiefly among the white population. For 
several vears he preached two or three sermons every Sabbath, 
and rode twenty to thirty miles to meet his appointments. 
He alfo attended one or two evening prayer-meetings weekly, 
traveling from five to fifteen miles to do so, even in nights 
when the snow was drifting, and the thermometer was far 
below zero. 

As the country became more densely settled, the field of his 
labors was contracted, but the amount ot them not diminished. 
Few of those who settled near him were Presbyterians, or 
members of any Protestant church; yet from among them he 
gathered a self-sustaining Presbyterian Church, the first, and 
as yet, the only one of the kind in Minnesota, outside of the 
cities and county-seats. In all this time, his salary was so 
small that, in order to support his family, he labored three or 
four days each week with his hands; acco9iplishing more in 
those days than most men do in six. I suppose the largest 
salary he ever received, was $600 a year from the United States 
government, for farming for the Indians. At that time he 
and his wife were members of the Dakota Mission. By a rule 
of the A. B. C. F. M., all moneys received by members of any 
mission as compensation for secular labor, was at the disposal 
of the mission and not of the person receiving it. In his case 
the mission said that, as he had never received any salary 






/ 

/ 
/ 



370 MINNESOTA HIBTORICAL COLLKGTIONS. 

from the Board, and the other farmers for the Indians, receiv- 
ing a like salary from the Govern men t, spent the whole of it 
in supporting their families, his salary was his own, and we 
had nothing to do with it. Nevertheless, as he knew that 
the rest of us received only a bare support for our families, 
which at that time was less than $600 for any family, he 
determined he would not have more than the rest, and after 
he resigned, made an exact calculation, and found that he had 
saved several hundred dollars, he gave it all to benevolent 
objects. I know not the exact amount, but know he gave to 
the A. B. C. F. M., the American Home Missionary Society, 
American Bible Society, and the American Tract Society, 
each $100; $400 to the four. 

While laboring thus assiduously, neither his family nor 
the cultivation of his own mind, nor his sermons, were neg* 
lected. Most of his English discourses were written out in 
full, though he did not always read them. Though not a 
fluent speaker, wherever he preached, people heard him gladly. 
He purchased a good, though not a large library, and made a 
good use of it. After coming among the Dakotas, he not 
only learned their language, but Latin, Greek and French, 
and read the Holy Scriptures in all these languages. 

Few will suppose a man could accomplish so much without 
a helpmeet. God was pleased to give him two such, worthy 
of him. Of the first, I have already made mention. She was 
called to her rest in 1853, leaving him seven children. One 
of these, after graduating at Marietta, died of cholera while 
a student at Lane Theological Seminary. The other six are 
all living and useful members of Christ^s church. 

Some two years after, he married the widow of Rev. Robert 
Hopkins, a grand-daughter of Robert G. Wilson, D. D., 
long pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Chillicothe, 
and some years President of Ohio University, at Athens. At 
the time of her second marriage she had three children of 
Mr, Hopkins' living; and she bore Mr. Pond six, all whom 
are living, and communicants in Christian churches, as are 
the husbands and wives of his six, and her four children who 
are married. Of his twenty-two grand-children, six are com- 
municants, and the oldest who is not, is only eleven years old. 



KBMOEIAL NOTICES OF RET. OIDEON H. POND. 871 

He left to his widow and minor children a good farm, on 
which he lived more than thirty years, and had built a good 
house and bam, and his cattle and horses, unincumbered with 
debt. He had naturally good health, but labors like his, wear 
out our clay tenements. After preaching twenty years to his 
neighbors who composed the Bloomington church, in the 
fall of 1873 he resigned the pastorate of that church, feeling 
that his strength was insufficient to discharge the duties as 
he had done; though for several months, until another pastor 
was obtained, he occupied the pulpit most of the time. Sub- 
sequently he preached occasionally there, and elsewhere, when 
he felt able and was invited to do so. The esteem in which 
he was held as a preacher appears from the fact that when 
Synod was in session at St. Paul last autumn, by special in- 
vitation, on Sabbath morning he preached in the wealthiest 
Presbyterian church in the city. 

For several months he had suffered from soreness in his 
lungs, which increased, and resulted in acute pneumonia. 
When informed that he would probably die soon, he, seemed 
pleased, and said: ^* I have no anxiety. I would prefer to 
die now." 

^h ^ ^ ^ ^ ^F ^h 

He never lost his interest in the Dakotas, nor did they 
cease to love him. Within the last ten years several families 
of them returned and settled near him. These he instructed 
in their own tongue, and nearly a dozen became communi- 
cants in his church, and regular attendants, being taught in 
the Sabbath school by one of his children. They were at his 
funeral, and when they saw his face for the last time, big tears 
dropped from their cheeks to the floor of the church. 



IN MEMORY OF REV-THOS. S. WILLIAM- 
SON. M. D. 



r. F|iOM A SKETCH BY REV. STEPHEN R. RI66S, D. D , IN THE NEW 

YORK EVANGELIST, JULY 17. 1879. 



Fifty years ago in this month of July, my mother was 
lying sick nnto death in the town of Ripley, Ohio. We were 
comparatively strangers there, having come down &om 
Steabenville' only three months before. There came daily 
into that sick room, a young physician of a half-dozen years' 
practice. That was the beginning of my acquaintance with 
Dr. Williamson. During the next three or four years, no 
man in Ripley attended our examinations in Latin and Greek 
more regularly, or manifested a deeper interest in our pro- 
gress. This was my boy acquaintance with him. But now 
for forty and two full years, he and I have been intimately 
associated in the missionary work in the land of the Dakotas. 

Thomas Smith Williamsok was born in Union District, 
South Carolina, in March, 1800. He was the son of Rev. 
William Williamson and Mart Smith — a second marriage. 
At this time the father was pastor of the church at Fair 
Forest. When only a boy of eighteen he had been drafted 
into the army, and accompanied Gates in his unfortunate ex- 
pedition throughout the Carolinas. Afterwards he was grad- 
uated at Hampden Sydney College, and became a minister of 
the Gospel. By both his marriages he had come into the 
possession of slai^es, as well as from his own father, Thomas 
Williamson, whose wife was Ann Newton, a distant relative 
of Sir Isaac Newton. By the will of his father, the slaves 
so coming to him were to be set free; and to accomplish this 
object for all in his possession. Rev. William Williamson, 
in 1805, while Thomas Smith Williamson was a little lad, 
removed from South Carolina to Adams county, Ohio. 



MEMOIR OF REV. T. 8. WUXIAMSON. 373 

Thus the boy Thomas had the advantage of growing up in 
the atmosphere of a free state, and with inherited antipathies 
to the wrong of slavery. In due time he was sent to Jeffer- 
son College, at Gannonsburg, Pa., where he graduated in the 
autumn of 1820. For the next three or four years he gave 
himself to the study of medicine, attending lectures, first at 
Cincinnati, and afterwards in Yale Medical College, where he 
took his degree of Doctor of Medicine in the spring of 1824. 
Returning to Ohio, he commenced the practice of his pro- 
fession in West Union. But the next year he removed to 
Ripley, where he built up a very fair practice, in which he 
continued eight years. 

lu the spring of 1827 he married into one of the first 
families of Mason county, Ey., Margaret Poaoe, daughter 
of Col. James Poaob, who was the proprietor of the town of 
Ripley. Into this new family there came during the next 
six years three children, but the Lord took them, and the 
father and mother were left alone. This, more than anything 
else, induced him to abandon^the practice of medicine and 
seek the Qospel ministry. In these family bereavements he 
heard the Master^s voice saying to him, ** Come up higher." 

Accordingly in the spring of 1833 he placed himself under 
the care of the Chillicothe Presbytery, and commenced the 
study of theology. The winter following, he spent in the 
Lane Theological Seminary, and was licensed to preach by 
his Presbytery in the spring of 1834. The change in his pro- 
fession was made with the intention of devoting himself to 
missionary work among the aborigines of this country. And 
now, immediately after his licensure, we find him with an 
appointment from the American Board of Commissioners 
for Foreign Missions ''to proceed on an exploring tour among 
the Indians of the Upper Mississippi, with special reference 
to the Sacs and Foxes, but to collect what information he 
could in reference to the Sioux, Winnebagoes and other In- 
dians." 

He went as far as Fort Snelling, and found what appeared 
to be an open door among the Dakotas or Sioux. There he 
met the brothers Pond, Samuel W. and Gideon H., from 
Connecticut, who had only gone up the Mississippi a few 



374 MINNESOTA HIBTOBICAL COLLBOTIONS. 

weeks before he did, and were now building their log cabin 
on the margin of Lake Calhoun. So he returned to Ohio, 
made his report to those who sent him, and on the 18th of 
September, 1834, was ordained as a missionary by the Presby- 
tery of Ghillicothe. A few months later he received his ap- 
pointment as a missionary of the American Board of Com- 
missioners for Foreign Missions to the Dakotas; and on the 
first day of April, 1835, Dr. Williamson with his family, ac- 
companied by Alexander G. Huqgins and family, embarked 
at Ripley, Ohio, on a steamboat; and on the 16th of May 
they arrived at Fort Snelling. Here they stopped for a few 
weeks, and participated in a work of grace then going on 
within the garrison, and assisted in organizing the first Chris- 
tian church in what is now the state of Minnesota.- 

Already they had left civilization far behind them, but the 
open door to Dr. Williamson and his party seemed to be far 
in the interior. They would fain have stopped at the Dakota 
village on Lake Calhoun, but their thought was not the Lord's 
thought. Joseph Renville, the fur trader from Lac qui 
Parle, was there, and invited them to go up with him. Ac- 
cordingly, on the 23d of June, they embarked on the Fur 
Company's Mackinaw boat, and ascended the St. Peter's or 
Minnesota river, as far as Traverse des Sioux, which they 
reached on the last of the month. From that point they made 
aland journey over the prairie, of about 125 miles, to Lac qui 
Parle, which they reached on the 9th of July, 1835. There, 
on the north side of the Minnesota river, and in sight of 
" The Lake-that-Speaks" to man, or *' The Lake of Echoes," 
as it was foi^merly understood, they established themselves as 
teachers of the religion of Jesus. 

Of the ^* Life and Labors" pressed into the next forty years, 
only the most meager outline could be given in this article. 
I prefer, rather, to make some groupings from which the life 
may be imagined. « 

There only lacks one year now of two round centuries, since 
Hennepin and Du Luth met in the camps and villages of the 
Sioux on the Mississippi. Then, as since, they were recog- 
nized as the largest and most warlike tribe of Indians on the 
continent. Until Dr. Williamson and his associates went 



MEMOIR OF REV. T. S. WILLIAMSOK. 375 

among them, there does not appear to have heen any effort 
made to civilize and Christianize them. With the exception 
of a few hundred words gathered by army officers and others, 
the Dakota language was unwritten. This was to be learned, 
mastered; which was found to be no small undertaking, 
especially to one who had attained the age of thirty-five 
years. While men of less energy and pluck would have 
knocked off, and been content to work as best they could 
through an interpreter. Dr. Williamsok persevered, and in 
less than two years was preaching Christ to them, in the lan- 
guage in which they were bom. He never spoke it easily, 
nor just like an Indian, but he was readily understood by 
those who were accustomed to hear him. Many years after, 
when he and I were traveling among the Tetons of the Mis- 
souri, who speak a dialect different from the one we learned, 
they complained that they could not understand the Doctor^s 
religious talks. I suggested that he speak mor^ slowly; which 
he did, and with better effect. 

When I joined the band of workers at Lac qui Parle, in the 
Autumn of 1837, 1 found Dr. Williamson and Mr. Gideon 
H Pond engaged in obtaining through the French language 
and Mr. RsiimLLE, some translations of the word of God. 
The Gospel of Mark was the first book completed, and Dr. 
Williamson made a visit to Ohio in the fall of 1889, to have 
it printed. The Gospel of John and some other portions 
were translated into the Dakota in the same way. As trans- 
lations these were not very exact, but they were invaluable 
to us, since they gave us so many moulds, so to speak, of 
Christian thought. After that we commenced translating 
from the original Hebrew and Greek; and for these forty years 
it has been my privilege to work side by side and hand to 
hand with Dr. Williamson, in the labor of giving the Bible 
to the Dakotas. 

Not in this part of the work alone, but in other forms of 
missionary labor as well, I have often admired the indomitable 
courage and perseverance of Dr. Williamson. There have 
been dark days in the history of the Dakota Mission, when 
my own heart would, I think, have failed me if it had not 
been for the '' hold on and hold out to the end ^^ of my best 



376 KINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS* 

earthly friend. And when, the other day, I heard that he 
was gone, I seemed to feel as I imagine a man in line of battle 
would,) when his comrade standing right in front of him is 
stricken down; shoved to the front. 

It was by a. divine guidance that the station of Lac qui 
Parle was commenced. The Indians there were very poor in 
this world^s goods, not more than half 9 dozen houses being 
owned in a village of 400 people. They were far in the inte- 
rior and received no annuities from government. Thus they 
were in a condition to be helped in many ways by the mission. 
Under its influence and by its help, their com patches were 
enlarged and their agriculture improved. Dr. Williamson 
also found abundant opportunities for the practice of medicine 
among them. Not that they gave up their pow-wows and 
conjuiing, but many families were found quite willing that 
the white Pay-zhe-hoO'ta-wt-chaHh-ta (Grass Root Man) 
should try his skill with the rest. For more than a quarter 
of a centurv, his medical aid went hand in hand with the 
preaching of the Gospel. By the helpfulness of the mission 
in various ways a certain amount of confidence was secured. 
Through the influence of Mr. Renville, a few men, but 
especially the women, gathered to hear the good news of sal- 
vation. A native church was oi^anized. Dr. Williamson 
writes: ^^In the year ending May, 1836, three persons had 
been received on examination; in the following year, iour; 
and in the next year, nine; ten in the year ending May, 1839; 
in the next year, five; and m that ending in the spring of 
1841. nine; making forty in all. In May, 1842, it was 
recorded: "Within a year, nine full-blooded Dakotas have 
been received to the church; three men and six women.'' 

This shows a successful mission work. In the year 1842. 
the book of Genesis and a portion of the Psalms, together 
with about two-thirds of the New Testament, besides a Dakota 
hymn book and several school books, were printed. But in 
the meantime the war prophets and the so-called medicine 
men, were becoming suspicious of the new religion. They 
began to understand that the religion of Christ antagonized 
their own ancestral faith; and so they organized opposition. 
The children were forbidden to attend the mission school; 



MEMOIR OF REV. T. S. WILLIAMSON. 377 

Dakota soldiers were sfcationed along the paths, and the 
women^s blankets were cut up, when they attempted to go to 
church. Year after year the mission cattle were killed and 
eaten. At one time, Dr Williamson was obliged to hitch up 
milch cows to haul his wood with; the only animals left him. 
Regarding this period, Dr. Williamson himself^ in his ser- 
mon before the Synod of Minnesota in 1858, said : 

" But we had other difficulties to contend with, bejidee those arising^ 
from learning a difficult and unwritten haigu&ge, Paul, the Apostle of 
the Gentiles, had to labor, not only in journeying^ and preaching the Gos- 
pel, but eyen in the rich city of Corinth, the labor of his own hands pro- 
vided for himself necessary food and clothing; and those who are like 
him, striving to preach Ohbist where he has not been much known, 
must not think it strange if they have to imitate him, in laboring with 
their hands. When the Dakota Mission was commenced we were in- 
formed that we must use the strictest economy in our expenses. 

About the close of the year 18S7 or 1838, we were instructed that our 
drafts on the treasury of the Board must in no case exceed eleven hundred 
dollar^ a year. There were at that time, laboring at the two stations, 
Lake Harriet and Lac qui Parle, three ordained ministers, two other men 
as teachers and farmers, six women, two of whom were teachers, and 
eight or ten children. At that time we had not a house fit to live in at 
either of the stations, and the best house belonging to the Mission wajs a 
year or two after abandoned. This restriction continued for five years, 
during which time the number of ministers and other laborers continued 
about the same, and the children increased to fourteen. In these five years 
the whole amount of money drawn by the Mission from the treasury of 
the Board, as shown by the annual reports, including four hundred dol- 
lars a year, or two thousand dollars in all, paid by the United States gov- 
ernment on account of the schools taught by the assistant missionaries, 
was only four thousand, six hundred and fifty-five dollars and thirty-seven 
cents — ^less than one thousand a year for the furnishing of food, clothing 
and shelter, including also traveling expenses, the publication of books 
for the schools, as well as books for our own use and contingent expenses, 
for from twenty to twenty -four persons, besides several Indian diildren 
that were kept m our fiunilies during a part of the time. 

During the whole of this five years, a mtgority of these persons had 
their home at Lac qui Parle, where food and clothing were dearer than at 
any place m the United States, and as dear as at any station sustained 
by the American Board of Foreign Missions, in any part of the whole 
world. 

We had no smithshop nor post-office nearer than two hundred miles, 
and no mill till we erected one with our own hands. It is true that at 
this time we received considerable donations of clothing and some of pro- 



378 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL C0LLECTICN8. 

▼isions from fiiends in Ohio, but after paying sereral cents a pound for 
freight and charges on those as well as all oar other supplies, we had to 
haal them one hundred and twenty-five miles over a praihe where no men 
dwelt, and which, on vanons occasions we traversed alone without seeing 
a human being, or a quadruped except our team. In these journeys in 
which, for the sake of taking home a little more of such things as we 
needed, or getting home a little sooner, we mostly walked to drive our 
team by day, often wading through bogs, in which occasionally we be^ 
came mired so that it was necessary to unhitch, and taking out our load 
from the wagon, carry it through the swamp on our shoulders. 

These labors by day, with watching our team and fighting the mos- 
quitoes by night, caused such lassitude and exhaustion of the physical 
powers, that on various occasions, for a week alter getting home from one 
these tnps, we were unfit for any labor, bodily or mental/* 

These were dark, discouraging years, very trying to the 
native church members, as well as missionaries. It is not 
strange that when in 1846, Dr. Williamson received an invi- 
tation, through the agent at Fort Snelling, to establish a 
mission at Littls Gbow^s village, a few miles below where St. 
Paul has grown up, he at once accepted it, gathering from it 
that the Lord had a work for him to do there. And indeed 
He had. During the five or six yearn he remained there, a 
small Dakota church was gathered, and an opportunity was 
afforded him to exert a positive Christian influence on the 
white people then gathering into the capital of Minnesota. 
He preached the first sermon there. 

When, after the treaty of 1851, the Indians of the Missis- 
sippi and lower Minnesota were removed, Dr. Williaksok 
removed with them, or, rather, he went before them, and 
commenced his last station at Pay-zhe-hoo-ta-zee (the Yellow 
Medicine). There he and his family had further opportunity 
to "glory in tribulations." The first winter was one of un- 
usual severity, and they came near starving. But here the 
Lord blessed them and permitted them to see a native church 
grow up, as well as at Hazlewood, the other mission station 
near by. It was during the next ten years that the seeds of 
civilization and Christianity took root, and grew into a fruit- 
age, which in some good manner sustained the storm of the 
outbreak in 1862, and resulted in a great harvest afterwards. 

Twenty-seven years of labor among the Dakotas were past. 



KEMOIB OF BBY. T. 8. WILLIAMSOK. 379 

The results had been enconraging, gratifying. Dr. William- 
80N*8 oldest son, Rev. JoHur P. Williamson, born in the mis- 
sionary kingdom, had recently come from Lane Seminary, 
and joined our missionary forces. But suddenly our work 
seemed to be dashed into pieces. The whirlwind of the out- 
break swept over our mission. Our houses and churches were 
burned with fire. The members of our native churches; 
where were they ? Would there ever be a gathering again? 
It required just such a physical and moral revolution as that 
to break the bonds of heathenism in which these Dakotas 
were. It seems also to have required the manifest endurance 
of privations and the unselfish devotion of Dr. Williamson 
and others to them in this time of trouble, to fully satisfy 
their suspicious hearts that we did not seek theirs^ but them. 
The winter of 1862-3, Dr. Williamson having located his 
family at St. Peter, usually walked up every Saturday to 
Mankato, to preach the Gospel to the 400 Dakota men in 
prison. ^* That,'^ said a young man, ^^satisfied us that you 
were really our iriends.'' Sometimes it seems strange that it 
required so much to convince them. 

History scarcely furnishes a more remarkable instance of 
divine power on human hearts, than was witnessed in that 
prison. On the first day of February, 1863, Rev. Gideon H. 
Pond was standing with Dr. Williamson, when they " bap- 
tized into the name of the Fatseb, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost, three hundred in a day^ 

Ever since the outbreak. Dr. Williamson had had a home 
for his family in the town of St. Peter and its vicinity. For 
two years of the three in which the condemned Dakotas were 
imprisoned at Davenport, Iowa, he gave his time and streilgth 
chiefly to ministering to their spiritual needs. Education 
never progressed more rapidly among them than during these 
years. They almost all learned to read and write their own 
language. They spent much of their time in singing hymns 
of praise, in prayer, and reading the Bible. They were enrolled 
in classes, and each class was placed under the special super- 
vision of an elder. This gave them something like a Meth- 
odist organization; but it was found essential to a proper 
watch and care. 48 



380 MunnESOTA histosioal ooLLBcnoiirs. 

This experience in the prison and elsewhere, made it more 
and more manifest that to carry forward the work of evange- 
lization among this people, we must make large use of our 
native talent. Our first licentiate was Jomr Baptiste Rek- 
YiLLB, the youngest son of the Joseph Bekville under whose 
auspices the mission had been commenced at Lac qui Parle. 
In the spring of 1865, the Dakota Presbytery, which was the 
first organization within the bounds of Minnesota, held its 
meeting in the town of Mankato. Dr. Wiluamsok preached 
the opening sermon on " Our Christian Duty to the Inferior 
Races, the African and the Indian.^^ The doctrines he ad- 
vanced, and the statements he made, were not popular then 
and there. But probably no disturbance would have been 
made, if hostile Sioux had not been in the neighborhood and 
killed the Jewett family. This was unknown to us till the 
next day. But the unreasoning populace said it was because 
Dr. WiLLiAMSOK had come to town and preached that sermon. 
And so while we were examining Johk B. Renville, the 
chief men of the town came in and demanded the retirement 
of the Doctor. 

Probably no white man ever doubted that Dr. WnjjAiisoir 
was the honest and hearty friend of the Indian. With a class of 
men it was the head and front of his offending, that, in their 
judgment, he could see only one side, that he was always the 
apologist of the red man, that in the massacre of the border 
in 1862, when others believed and asserted that a thousand or 
fifteen hundred whites were killed. Dr. Willdlkson could 
only count three or four hundred. He was honest in. his be- 
lief, and honest in his apologies. He felt that necessity was 
laid ^pon him to ^^open his mouth for the dumb.'' They could 
not defend themselves; they have had very few defenders 
among white people. 

In the summer of 1866, after the release of the Dakota 
prisoners at Davenport, Iowa, Dr. Wujjahsok and I took 
with us Rev. John B. Reiitville, and journeyed up through 
Minnesota and across through Dakota to the Missouri river, 
and into the eastern comer of Nebraska. On our way we 
spent some time at the head of the Goteau, preaching and ad- 
ministering the ordinances of the Oospel to our old church 



HEKOIB OF BSY. T. 8. WILLIAHSOlf. 381 

members, and gathering in amultitudeof new converts, which 
we organized into churches, ordaining elders over them, and 
licensing two of the best qualified to preach the Gospel. 
When we reached the Niobrara, we found the Christians of 
the prison at Davenport and the Christians of the Camp at 
Crow Creek, now united, and they desired to be consolidated 
into one church, of more than 400 members. We helped 
them to select their religious teachers, which they did from 
the men who had been in prison. So mightily has the Word 
of God prevailed among them, that almost the entire com- 
munity professed to be Christians. For four consecutive sum- 
mers, it was our privilege to travel together in this work of 
visiting and reconstructing these Dakota Christian communi- 
ties. We also extended our visits to the villages of wild Tee- 
tons along the Missouri river. Dr. Willumsok claimed that 
the Indians must be more honest than white men; for he 
always took with him an old trunk without a lock, and in all 
their journeys he had not lost from a thread to a shoestring. 
For nearly thirty-six years. Dr. Williamsok was a mission- 
ary of the American Board. But after the union of the As- 
semblies and the transfer of the funds contributed by the 
New School supporters of that Board to the Presbyterian 
Board of Foreign Missions, the question of a change of our 
relations was thoughtfully considered and fully discussed. The 
Doctor was too strong a Presbyterian not to have decided 
convictions on that matter. But there were, as we considered 
it, substantial reasons why we could not go over as an entire 
mission. And so we agreed to divide, Dr. Williamsok and 
his son, Rev. Johk P. Wiluahsok, transferring themselves 
to the Presbyterian Board, while my boys and myself re- 
mained as we were. The division made no disturbance in 
our mutual confidence, and no change in the methods of our 
common work. Bather have the bonds of our union been 
drawn more closely together, during the past eight years, by 
an annual conference of all our Dakota pastors and elders and 
Sabbath school workers. This has gathered and again dis- 
tributed the enthusiasm of the churches; and has become the 
director of the native missionary forces. With one exception 



882 KINKESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLEGTIOKB. 

Dr. WiLLiAicsoK has been able to attend all these annual con- 
vocations, and has added very much to their interest. 

His great life work, that of translating the Bible into the lan- 
guage of the Sioux nation, was continued through more than 
two score years, and was only completed last Autumn. In 
this, as in most things, he worked slowly and carefully. He 
commenced with Genesis, as has been already stated, and 
worked onwards. The exception to this was that, many years 
ago, he made a translation of the book of Proverbs. But he 
closed his work with the books of Chronicles. He lived to 
read the plate proofs of all, and to realize that the entire 
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were in the lan- 
guage of the Dakotas, though he did jiot live to see the book 
complete. 

While the Synod of Minnesota was holding its session in 
St. Paul, in October, 1877, Dr. Williamson was lying at the 
point of death, as was supposed, with pneumonia. Farewell 
words passed between him and the Synod. But his work was 
not then done, and the Lord raised him up to complete it. 
Now when the Bible was finished, there seemed to be no fur- 
ther object that he should live for, and he declined almost 
from that day onward. 

On my way up to the land of the Dakotas, in the middle 
of May, I stopped over a day with my old friend. He was 
very feeble, but still able to walk out and sit up a good part 
of the day. Of this visit I made this memorandum : 

"He \b now in his eightieth year, and is really quite feeble. He has 
been hoping that as the warm weather oomes on, he may rally as he has 
done in former years. But his feeling seemed to be that as the great 
work of giving the Bible to the Dakotas was oompleted, there was not 
mnch left for him to do here. He remarked that he had daring the last 
forty-four years, built several houses; one at Lac qui Parle, one at Eapo- 
sia, one at Yellow Medicine, and one near St. Peter. The two on the 
upper Minnesota had fallen to pieces or been destroyed, and the otheiF 
were looking old, and would not remain long after he was gone. But 
the building up of human souls that he had been permitted to work for, 
and which, by the grace of (jOD, he had seen coming up into new life, 
through the influence of the word and the power of the Holy Ghost, he 
confidently believed would remain. 



1£EM0IR OF REV. T. S. WILLIAMSON. 883 

When I reported to his Dakota friends the near prospect of his dissolution 
there arose in all the churches a great prayer-cry for his recovery. This 
was reported to him, but he sent back, by the hand of his son Andrew, 
this message : "Tell the Indians that father thanks them very much for 
their prayers, and hopes they will be blessed both to his good and theirs. 
But he does not wish them to pray that his life here may be prolonged, 
for he longs to depart and be with Chribt." 

And so his longing was answered. He died on Tuesday, 
June 24, 1879, at 2 a. m. 

On the further shore he has joined the multitude that have 
gone before. Of his own family, there are the three who went 
in infancy. Next, Sxith Burgess, a manly Christian boy, 
was taken away very suddenly. Then Lizzie Hunter went 
in the prime of womanhood. The mother followed, a woman 
of a quiet and a beautiful life. And the sainted Nanioe 
went up to put on white robes. Besides these of his family, 
a multitude of Dakotas are there who will call him father. I 
think they have gathered around him and sung, under the 
trees by the river, one of his Dakota hymns: 

Jehowa Mayooha, nimayakiye, 

Nitowashte iwadowan. 
Jehovah, my Lord, Thou hast sav?d me, 

I sing of Thy goodness. 

Of his last days on earth, Johk P. Williamson writes 
thus : "Father seemed to be tired out in body and mind, 
with as much disinclination to talk as to move, and appar- 
ently as much from the labor of collecting his mind, as the 
difficulty of articulation. We had thought that; perhaps at 
the last, when the bodily pains ceased, there might be a little 
lingering sunshine from the inner man; but such was not the 
case; and perhaps it was most fitting that he should die as 
he lived, with no exalted imagery of the future, but a stern 
faith which gives hope and peace in the deepest waters.^^ My 
life-long firiend — my fellow-worker in the Gospel of Jesus 
among the Dakotas — he needs no eulogy from me ! His 
works do follow him ! 



384 HIKKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIOKB. 



II. FROM A MEMOIR IN THE BERALD JLlfD PRESBYTER, JULY, 
1879. WRITTEN BY HIS SON, A. W. WILLIAMSON. 

From 1 864 to his death, he made his home at St. Peter, 
superintending the work of native laborers bj means of very 
extensive correspondence, and by missionary tours occupying 
the greater part of his summers; and in conjunction with Dr. 
RiGGS, revising and completing a very careful translation of 
the Holy Scriptures into the Dakota. He finished revising 
the last proofs about three months before his death. So long 
as he was able to sit up, which was to within about three 
weeks of his death, he continued to keep up his work by cor- 
respondence, spending the remainder of his time on an article 
proving by their tradition, mythology, and especially from 
their language, that the Dakotas originally came from Europe, 
and that it is probable that the Poncas, Omahas, Mandans, 
and some other tribes kindred by language to the Dakotas, 
were the mound builders of the Ohio Valley.^ He suffered 
much for several months before his death, but bore it with 
patient resignation, only asking of his friends that they 
should not pray that he might be detained longer from going 
to be with Jesus. 

Never brilliant, he was yet, by his capacity for long-con- 
tinued, severe exertion, and by systematic, persevering in- 
dustry, enabled to accomplish an almost incredible amount of 
labor. Needing a knowledge of French as a stepping-stone 
to a knowledge of Dakota, he studied it diligently during 
his tedious trip out, and while driving his team over the 
prairie for supplies, and learned it so* thoroughly that ever 
after, he was able to read French as readily as English. He 
professed equal facility in Latin, in Attic and New Testament 
Greek, and in the Hebrew Scriptures. In all his works he 
was distinguished by conscientious thoroughness. Often 
would he study many hours with the aid of the best help he 

1. His last visit to the rooms of the Historical Society, but a few weeks prior 
to his death, was to consult authorities regarding this question, and he labored 
diligently on it several hours each day while in the city, though suffering much 
bodily pain at the time. W. 



HEHOIB OF REV. T. 8. WILLIAMSON. 385 

could secure, both English and Latin, to settle in his mind 
the exact force of a Hebrew or Greek expression before at- 
tempting to render it into Dakota. 

In his family he was a kind and affectionate husband and 
father, not permitting any pressure of other duties to cause 
him to neglect the training of his children. All of his sons 
graduated from college with honorable standing, one becom- 
ing a foreign missionary, one a teacher, one a lawyer. He 
was not at all eloquent in speech, yet thorough knowledge of 
God's word, practical good sense, and his lucid explanations, 
gave him considerable power in the pulpit; but his chief 
power as a messenger of God lay in his example, in his mak- 
ing himself a true, devoted and trusted friend for those for 
whom he labored, and in a Christian conversation which 
often seemed as if dictated by God's spirit. 

In his last days his mind as well as his body, was weak and 
weary. 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACRE OF 1857. 

A PAPER READ BEFORE THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL 

SOCIETY, DECEMBER 8, 1879. 



BY HOK. GHABLES £. FLA2n)RAn. 

At the request of the Historical Society I have prepared 
the following account of the massacre which took place at 
and about Spirit Lake, in the year 1857, which has been 
known generally as the Inh-pordu-ta war. I now submit the 
same for your consideration, and if approved, to become one 
of the records of your society. 

Prior to 1842, the Sac anil Fox tribes of Indians occupied 
the country which is now the State of Iowa. On the 11th 
day of October, 1842, these Indians made a treaty with the 
United States government, by which they sold all the lands 
west of the Mississippi river, to which they had any claim or 
title, or in which they had any interest whatever, reserving 
the right of occupancy for three years from the date of the 
treaty, to all that part of the land ceded, which lies west of a 
line running due north and south from the painted or red 
rocks on the White Breast fork of the Des Moines river, 
which rocks were situated eight miles from the junction of 
the White Breast with the Des Moines. 

The country north of Iowa and west of the Mississippi river 
as far as the Little Rapids on the Minnesota river, was occu- 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MA3SACBE OF 1857. 387 

pied by the M'-de-wa-kanH^ons and Wak*pe-ku-te bands of 
Sioux Indians. These latter Indians were at war with the 
Sacs and Foxes. The' Wak-pe-ku-te band were under the 
leadership of two principal chiefs, named Wam-di-sapa 
[Black EaqleJ and Ta-sa^gi. The lawless and predatory 
habits of Wam-di^sapa and his band, prolonged the war with 
the Sacs and Foxes, and to a great extent created difficulties 
between the band of Wam-di-sapa and the rest of the Wak- 
pe-ku-te, which troubles gradually separated his band from 
them. Wamrdi'sapa and his people moved to the west to- 
vward the Missouri, and occupied the lands about the Vermil- 
lion river, and so thoroughly was he separated from the rest 
of the Wak-pe-ku-te,that when the last named Indians, togeth- 
er with the M^de-wa-kan-tons, made their treaty at Mendota 
in 1851, by which they ceded the lands in Minnesota owned 
by them, the remnant of Wam-^i^sapd's people was not 
regarded as being a part of the Wakpe-kute at all, and took 
no part in the treaty. 

By 1857 all that remained of Wam^i^sapa's straggling 
band, was about ten or fifteen lodges under the chieftainship 
of Ink-pardur-ta or the Soaklet Point, sometimes called the 
Red Ehd. They had planted in the neighborhood of Spirit 
Lake prior to 1857, and ranged the country from there to the 
Missouri, and were considered a bad lot of vagabonds. 

Between 1855 and 1857 a tew settlers had located on a 
small stream which has its source in Minnesota west of Spirit 
Lake, and flows to the south, which was known at that 
time as In-yan-yan-ke or Rock River. This settlement was 
about forty miles south of Spirit Lake, in Iowa. 

In the spring of 1856 Hon. William FREBBORisr, of Red 
Wing, (after whom the county of Freeborn, in this state, is 
named) projected a settlement at Spirit Lake, which by the 
next spring had attained the number of six or seven houses, 
with as many families. 

About the same time another settlement was started about 
ten or fifteen miles north of Spirit Lake, on the head waters 
of the Des Moines, where a town was laid out and called 
Springfield. The principal party in the Springfield settle- 
ment was a Mr. William Wood, of Mankato, who went 



388 uisnusotjl historical golleotions. 

there to live, and who opened a trading house. In the spring 
of 1857 there were two stores and several families at Spring- 
field. 

These settlements were on the extreme frontier, and very 
mach isolated. There was nothing to the west of them, and 
the nearest settlefments on the north and northeast were on 
the Minnesota and Watonwan rivers, while the small settle- 
ment on the Rock river above mentioned, about forty miles 
south, was the nearest neighbor in that direction. All these 
settlements, although on ceded lands, were really in the very 
heart of the Indian country, and absolutely unprotected and- 
defenseless. 

In August, 1856, 1 had received the appointment of United 
States Indian agent for the Sioux of the Mississippi, the 
agencies of which Indians were on the Minnesota river, at 
Red Wood, and on the Yellow Medicine river, a few miles 
from its mouth; but having been on the frontier for some 
time previous to such appointment, I had become quite 
familiar with the Sioux, and knew in a general way of Ink- 
pcHiu'ta^s hajii^ its habits and whereabouts. In 1854 and 
1856 they came to the payments and demanded a share of the 
money of the Wak-pe-ku-te band, and made a good deal of 
trouble, but were forced to return to their haunts on the Big 
Sioux and in the adjoining country, without accomplishing 
their purpose. 

Early in March, 1857, these Indians were hunting in the 
neighborhood of the settlement on Rock river, and one of 
them was bitten by a dog belonging to a white man. The 
Indian killed the dog. The owner of the dog assaulted the 
Indian, and beat him severely. The white men then went in 
a body to the camp of the Indians, and disarmed them. The 
arms were either returned to them, or they obtained others, 
which, I never could with certainty discover. They may have 
been given back to them on condition that they would leave, 
which theory seems very probable, as they immediately came 
north toward Spirit Lake. They must have arrived at the 
Spirit Lake settlement about the 6th or 7th of March. They 
proceeded at once to massacre the settlers, and succeeded in 
killing all the men they found there, together with some 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACBE OF 1857. 389 

women, and carrying off four women, three of whom were 
married and one single. Their names were: Mrs. Noble, 
Mrs. Thatcher, Mrs. Mabble and Miss Gabdkbb. They 
then came on north to the Springfield settlement, where they 
killed every body they found, including Mr. William Wood. 
I regret very much that I did not obtain from Mrs. Marble 
or Miss GARDiiTBR, whom we afterwards rescued, the names 
of the victims, as I fear that no record was ever made of 
them. I learned at the time, and so reported to the govern- 
ment and newspapers, that the number killed was about 
twenty, as near as could be ascertained; but more accurate 
information subsequently obtained, increased the number to 
forty-two, which latter number, I am sure is very near the 
truth. 

The first information received of this terrible affair was 
through the efforts of a Mr. Morris Markh am, who had been 
living in the family of Mr. Gardner, at Spirit Lake, previous 
to the massacre. He returned from an absence of some time 
in Iowa, on the 9th of March and proceeded to his former 
home. He found the house sacked and three dead bodies 
lying in it. He then visited two other houses and found them 
deserted and plundered. He then secreted himself until night, 
when he went to a fourth house, and saw six or eight lodges 
of Indians encamped near it. Taking it for granted that 
these Indians had done the mischief, he went at once to 
Springfield and reported what he had seen. Had not this 
news reached Springfield before the arrival of the Indians, 
the result would have been more disastrous than it was. Some 
of the people fied, but Mr. Wood and others remained, and 
lost their lives in consequence. It has always been my opin- 
ion that, being in the habit of trading with these Indians 
occasionally, they did not believe that they stood in any dan- 
ger; and what is equally probable, they may not have be- 
lieved the report; every one who has lived in an Indian coun- 
try knows how frequently startling rumors are in circulation, 
and how often they prove unfounded. 

At any rate, the people at Springfield sent two young men 
to my Agency with the news. They brought with them a 
statement of the facts as related by Mr. Markham, signed by 



390 MimarEsoTA hibtobicaxi coLLEcnoHs. 

some persons with whom I was acquainted. They came on 
foot, and arrived at the Agency on the 18th of March. The 
snow was very deep, and was beginning to thaw; which made 
the traveling extremely difficult. When these young men 
arrived, they were so badly affected with snow blindness that 
they could scarcely see at all, and were completely wearied out. 
I was fully satisfied of the truth of the report that murders 
had been committed, although the details were, of course, very 
meagre. I at once held a consultation with Colonel Alex- 
AiiTDEB, commanding the Tenth United States Infantry, five 
or six companies of which were at Port Ridgely. The Colo- 
nel, with commendable promptness, ordered Capt. Barkabd 
E. Bee to proceed at once to the scene of the massacre, with 
his company, and to do all he could, either in the way of pro- 
tecting the settlers or punishing the enemy. 

The country between the Minnesota river, at Ridgely, and 
Spirit Lake, was at that day an utter wilderness, without an 
inhabitant. In fact, none of us knew where Spirit Lake was, 
except that it lay about due south of the fort, at a distance of 
from eighty to one hundred miles. 

We procured two guides of experience from among our 
Sioux half-breeds, Joseph Coursolle, more generally known 
as Joe Gaboo, and Joseph Lapbamboise. These men took a 
pony and a light train, to carry their blankets and provisions, 
put on their snow shoes, and were ready to go anywhere, 
while the poor troops, with their leather shoes and their back- 
loads, accompanied by a ponderous army wagon on wheels, 
drawn by six mules, were about as fit for such a march as an 
elephant is for a ball room; but it was the best the Govern- 
ment had, and they entered upon the arduous duty bravely 
and cheerfully. I had a light sleigh and a fine team, with my 
outfit aboard, with a French Canadian voyageur for a driver, 
and old Philandeb Pbbscott for my interpreter; being well 
outfitted for the occasion, as I always took good care to be 
when on Indian duty in the winter time. 

We started on the 19th day of March, at about 1 p. m., at 
first intending to go directly across the country, but we soon 
decided that course to be utterly impossible, as the mules 
could not draw the wagon through the deep snow. It became 



THE IKK**PA-DU-TA MASSACRE OF 1857. 391 

apparent that our only hope of reaching the lake was to fol- 
low the road down by the way of New TJlm to Mankato, and 
trust to luck for a road up the Watonwan in the direction of 
the lake; we having learned that some teams had recently 
started for that point with supplies. The first day's march 
was appalling. The men were wet nearly up to their waists 
with the deep and melting snow, and utterly weary before 
they had gone ten miles. Captain Bee was a South Caroli- 
nian, and though a veteran, had seen most of his service in 
Mexico and the south. Mr. Murbat, his lieutenant, was a 
gallant young fellow, but had not seen much service. Neither 
of them had ever made a snow camp before; and when we had 
dug out a place for our first camp, and were making futile 
attempts to dry our clothes before turning in for the night, I 
felt that the trip was hopeless. So much time had elapsed 
since the murders were committed, and so much more would 
necessarily be consumed before the troops could possibly reach 
the lake, that I felt assured that no good could result from 
going on, so I said to Captain Bee, that if he wanted to return, I 
would furnish him with a written opinion of two of the most 
experienced voyageurs on the frontier, that the march was 
impossible of accomplishment, with the inappropriate outfit 
with which the troops were furnished. It was then that the 
stern sense of duty which animates the true soldier, exhibited 
itself in these officers. The Captain agreed with me that the 
chances of accomplishing any good by going on were very 
small, but he read his orders, and said, in answer to my sug- 
gestion, ^' My orders are to go to Spirit Lake, and to do what 
I can. It is not for me to interpret my orders, but to obey 
them, I shall go on until it becomes physically impossible 
to proceed further. It will then be time to turn back." And 
go on he did. We followed the trail up the Watonwan, until 
we fouTid the teams that had made it, stuck in a snow drift; 
and for the remaining forty or fifty miles, the troops marched 
ahead of the mules, and broke a road for them; relieving the 
front rank every fifteen or twenty minutes. 

When the lake was reached, the Indians were crone. A 
careful examination was made of their camps and fires by the 
guides, who pronounced them three or four days old. Their 



\ 



/ 



392 MOTNESOTA HIBTORICAL OOLLECTICNB. 

trail led to the west. A pursait was made by a portion of the 
command, partly mounted on the mules, and partly on foot; 
but it was soon abandoned, on the declaration of the guides 
that the Indians were, by the signs, several days in advance. 
The dead were buried, a guard was established under Lieut 
MuRBAT with twenty-four men, and Capt. Bee, with the bal- 
ance, returned to the fort. 

I learned afterwards from Mrs. Mabble, one of the rescued 
women, that the troops in the pursuit came so near, that the 
Indians saw them, and made an ambush for them, and had 
they not turned back, the prisoners would all have been mur- 
dered. The guides may have been mistaken in their judgment 
of the age of the camps and fires, and may have deceived the 
troops. I knew the young men so well that I have never 
accused them of a betrayal of their trust; but it was probably 
best as it was, in either case, because, had the troops overtaken 
the Indians, the women would all have certainly been butch- 
ered, and some of the soldiers killed. The satisfaction of 
killing some of the Indians would not have compensated for 
this result. 

Of course this affair created great excitement throughout 
the territory. So little was known about the Indians who 
had perpetrated this outrage, that suspicion attached to the 
whole Sioux nation. In order to allay the fears of the people, 
I wrote a letter to the Pioneer and Democrat of date of April 
11th, 1857, explaining who Ink-pa-du-ta was, and what re- 
lation he bore to the annuity Indians, and giving the facts of 
the massacre, as nearly accurate as they were then known. 
This letter was published in that paper on the 21st day of 
April, 1857. 

I was engaged in devising plans for the rescue of the cap- 
tives and the punishment of the Indians, in connection with 
Colonel Alexai7Deb, of the Tenth Infantry, but had found it 
very difficult to settle upon any course which would not 
endanger the safety of the prisoners. We knew that any 
hostile demonstration would be sure to result in the destruc* 
tion of the women, and we were without means to outfit an 
expedition for their ransom. While we were deliberating 
upon the best course to pursue, an accident opened the way 



THE INK-PA-DXT-TA HASSACBK OF 1857. 393 

to success, A party of my Indians were hunting on the Big 
Sioux river, and having learned that Ink-pa-durta^s band was 
camped at lake Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka^ about thirty miles to the 
west of that ri ver,and also being aware of the fact that they held 
some white women as prisoners, two young men, brothers,of the 
name of Ma-kpe-ychka-ho-ton and Se-ha-ko-ta, visited the 
camp, and after much talk, they succeeded in purchasing 
Mrs. Marble. They paid for her all they possessed in the 
way of guns and horses, and brought her into the Tellow 
Medicine Agency, and delivered her into the possession of the 
missionaries stationed at that point. Rev. S. R. Rioos, Dr. 
Williamson, and their families. She was at once turned over 
to me, with a written statement from the two brothers who 
had brought her in, which was prepared for them at their 
request by Mr. Riogs, who spoke their language fluently. 
I will allow them to tell their own story. It was as follows: 

''HoK. C. E. Plandrau — Father: In our spring hunt, 
when encamped at the north end of the Big Wood on the 
Big Sioux river, we learned from some Indians who came to 
us, that we were not far from Red End's camp. Of our own 
accord, and contrary to the advice of all about us, we con- 
cluded to visit them, thinking that possibly we might be able 
to obtain one or more of the white women held by them as 
prisoners. We found them encamped at Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka^ 
a lake about thirty miles to the west of our own camp. We 
were met at some distance from their lodges, by four men armed 
with revolvers, who demanded of us our business. After 
satisfying them that we were not spies, and had no evil 
intentions in regard to them, we were taken into Red End^s 
lodge. 

*'The night was spent in reciting their massacres, &c. It was 
not until the next morning that we ventured to ask for one 
the women. Much time was spent in talking, and not until 
the middle of the afternoon, did we obtain their consent to 
our proposition. We paid for her all we had. We brought 
her to our mother^s tent, clothed her as we were able, and 
fed her bountifully with the best we had, ducks and cori^ 
We brought her to Lac qui Parle, and now, father, after hav- 
ing her with us fifteen days, we place her in your hands. 



394 HIKNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

^It was perilous business, which we think should be liberally 
rewarded. We claim for our services $500 each. We do not 
want it in horses, they would be killed by jealous young men. 
We do not wish it in ammunition and goods, these we should 
be obliged to divide with others. The laborer is worthy of 
his own reward. We want it in money, which we can make 
more serviceable to ourselves than it could be in any other 
form. This is what we have to say. 

" MAK-PI-yA-E:A-HO-TON, 

Sb-ha-ho-ta." 

^^ In the above statement and demand we, the undersigned, 

father of the above young men, and father-in-law to one of 

them, concur. 

" Wa-kajt-ma-ni. 

Noif-PA-KIN-TAN." 

May 21, 1857. 

By the action of these young men, we not only got one of 
the captives, but we learned for the first time definitely, the 
whereabouts of the marauders, and the assurance that the 
other women were still alive; as the young men had seen 
them in Red Ekd^s camp. The woman brought in was Mrs. 
Marble. 

It will bd seen that Mrs. Marble was delivered to me on 
the 21st day ot May. The Legislature ot the Territory was in 
session, and the interest in the fate of the captive women was 
very active at the capital. Of course there was no end of 
people who knew just how to rescue them, and also exactly 
how to annihilate the Indians; there always are such people 
on such occasions. Public sentiment received its expression, 
however, through the Legislature, which on the 15th day of 
May passed an act appropriating ten thousand dollars, or so 
much thereof as was necessary, out of an empty treasury, to 
be applied to the rescue of the captives. Fortunatel}' ihe 
appropriation was not hampered by an}" conditions, or the 
adoption of any of the numerous plans suggested to consume 
it, but the Governor was given carte blanche to do what he 
thought best with it. 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACRE OF 1857. 395 

At the time I received Mrs. Mabble, on the 21st of May, 
from her deliverers, I had not heard of this appropriation; 
bat the way seemed to me open to rescae the remaining: cap- 
tives. I at once called for volunteers from among the Indians 
to go out and buy them, which I knew was the only way 
they could be obtained alive. The first difficulty I had to 
overcome, was to satisfy the demand made by the two brothers 
for Mrs. Marble, as I wanted to use them in my proposed 
expedition. I had no public funds that could be devoted to 
such purposes, but I had confidence in the generosity of the 
people, especially if I succeeded] and as every moment might 
be worth a life, I determined to assume the responsibility 
of anything that was necessary. I was ably assisted by Mr. 
RiQGS and Doctor Williamson, both in the excellent advice 
they gave and in the exertion of their influence with the Indians. 
The traders all responded with cheerfulness to my calls upon 
them. I could not raise a thousand dollars in money in the 
country, but I had five hundred, and in order to raise the 
other five hundred to pay the two brothers for Mrs. Marble we 
resorted to a novel mode of financiering. Mr. Riqgs and myself 
decided to issue a territorial bond for the amount, drawn on 
hope and charity, payable in three months from date. It was 
the first bond ever issued by the territory, and I am happy to 
say that although executed without authority, it met with a 
better fate than some which have followed it under the broad 
seal of the state. It was paid at maturity. 

As it is the first obligation of the Territory, and being 
rather original in form, I give it in full : 

'* I, Stephen R. Rioos, Missionary amoo^ the Sioux Indians, and I, 
Charles £• Flandrau, United States Indian Agent for the Sioux, being 
satisGed that Mak-pi-ya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two Siuux Indians, 
have performed a valuable, servioe to the Territory of Minnesota and 
humanity, by rescuing from captivity Mrs. Maroabbt Ann Marblb, 
and delivering her to the Sioux agent; and being further satisfied that 
the rescue of the two remaining white women ;^ho are now in captivity 
among Ink-pa-du-ias band of Indians, depends much upon the liberality 
shown towards the said Indians who have recovered Mrs. Marble, and 
having full confidence in the humanity and liberality of the Territozy of 
Minnesota through its government and citizens, have this day paid to 
44 



896 lOKNESOTA HIBTORICAXi COLLECTIONS. 

said two above named Indians the sum of five hundred dollars in money, 
and do hereby pledge to said two Indians that the farther sum of five 
hundred dollars will be paid to them by the Territory of Minnesota or it^ 
citizens within three months from the date hereof. 
Dated May 22d, 1867, at Pa-ju-ta-zi-zi, M. T. 

Stephsn R. Rioob, Misssionary A. B. C. F. M. 

Chas. E. Flandbau, U. S. Indian agent for Sioux. 

The cash and this paper, paid for Mrs. Marble, and the 
« magnificence of the ransom, produced the effect I had antici- 
pated. Yolanteers were not wanting. I selected Paul Ma-za- 
KU-TA-MA-KI, who was onc of the pillars of Mr. Riqgs^ 
church, and two others, An-pe-tu-tok-cha or Other Day (who 
was such a friend of the whites in 1862, as to be rewarded by 
the state with a donation of a quarter section of land for his 
services) and Che-tan-maza. 

The question of outfit then presented itself, and I ran my 
credit with the traders for the following articles, at the prices 
stated: 

Wagon and double harness $110 00 

Four horses 600 00 

Twelve three-point blankets, four blue and eight white 56 00 

Twenty-two yards of blue squaw doth 44 00 

Thirty-seven and a half yards of calico 5 37 

Twenty pounds of tobacco 10 00 

One sack of shot 4 00 

One dozen shirts 13 00 

Ribbon 4 75 

Fifty pounds of powder 25 00 

Com ; 400 

Flour ! 10 00 

Coffee 1 50 

Sugar 1 50 

With this outfit, and instructions to give as much of it as 
was necessary for the women, my expedition started on the 
23d day of May from Yellow Medicine, and I at once left for 
Fort Ridgley to consult with Colonel Alexander as to a 
plan of operations for an attack on the camp of JnA;-pa-(2u-to, 
the instant we could get word as to the safety of the white 
women. 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACBB OF 1857. 397 

The Colonel eotered into the spirit of the matter with 
great zeal. He had foar or five companies at the fort, and 
proposed to put them into the field so as to approach Skunk 
Lake, where Ink-pa-dur4a had his camp, from several differ- 
ent directions, and ensure his destruction. If an event which 
was wholly unforseen, had not transpired, the well laid plans 
of Colonel Alexakdeb would undoubtedly have succeeded; 
but unfortunately for the cause of justice, just about the time 
we began to expect information from my expedition, which 
was to be the signal ior moving on the enemy, an order arrived 
at the fort commanding the Colonel with all his available force 
to start immediately and join the expedition against the 
Mormons, which was then moving to Utah under the com- 
mand of General Albert Sydney Johnbox. So pre-emptory 
was the command, that the steamboat which brought the order 
carried off the entire garrison of the fort, and put an end to 
all hopes of our being able to punish the enemy. 

Hon. Samuel Medaby, of Ohio, was at this time Governor 
of the Territory. The appropriation of $10,Q00, which had 
been made by the legislature, could only be made available 
by using it as a basis for borrowing money at an enormous 
shave, as current rates of interest on good security were from 
three to five per cent, per month, and an order of this kind 
on an empty treasury was by no means regarded as satisfac- 
tory protection to a lender. The Governor very naturally 
concluded that from my relations with the Indians I was best 
situated to advise as to his course concerning the captives, 
and at the first opportunity placed the whole matter in my 
hands, but as my expedition was then in the field, nothing 
more was necessary to be done until we had news from it. 

I will now return to the expedition. Skunk Lake was dis- 
tant about one hundred miles from the Tellow Medicine 
Agency. As before stated, my party left the Agency on May 
23d. On the 29th they found the dead body of Mrs. Nobles, 
who had been killed by her captors, because of her being sick 
and weary, and in consequence becoming a burden to them. 
On the 30th of May they arrived at a camp of one hundred 
and ninety lodges of Yanktons, and three lodges of Ink-pa- 
du-ia's band. Here they learned that Mrs. Thatcher had 



393 MINKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

been killed on the march from Spirit Lakf westward, and 
that Miss Gardner had been sold to a Yankton warrior of 
the name of Wam-a-duS'ka-i'han'ki^ or the End-op-thb- 
Snake. They succeeded in buying Miss Gardner for two 
horses, seven blankets, two kegs of powder, one box of to- 
bacco and some other small articles. 

My people were afraid that Ink-pa-du-ta's Indians might 
molest them on their return with Miss Gardner, and per- 
haps kill her. So, as a matter of safety, they obtained as an 
eicort, two sons of End-op-the-Snake, who accompanied 
them to the agency. 

The Yanktons were a very warlike and powerful branch of 
the Sioux nation, and the presence of these two young men 
of that band, was as perfect a protection, as would have 
been a regiment of troops; the moral force of their presence 
being sufficient to keep aloof all enemies. 

Having started my expedition on its return, with all that 
remained of the white captives, I will go back to Mrs. Mar- 
ble. When she arrived under the escort of the two brothers, 
she was dressed by their mother in the best that the lodge 
afforded, and with the jaunty squaw costume, very brown 
cheeks, ear-bobs, short petticoats, trim ankles, and neat moc- 
casins, she made rather an attractive looking woman. The 
missionaries however, in the goodness of their hearts (which 
attribute does not necessarily involve good taste) insisted 
upon rehabilitating her in what they were pleased to call 
more Christian raiment; so they stripped her of her pictur- 
esque heathen attire, and enveloped her in an ill-fitting 
calico dress, improvised for the occasion, which, although 
more Christian, was a deadly assault upon beauty, either in 
nature or art. On viewing the transformation, I thought of 
the lines of Moore: 

**The heretic girl of my soul shall I fly, 
To seek somewhere else a more orthodox kiss? 
No ; perish the hearts and the laws that would try 
Truth, valor or love by a standard like this.'* 

Under these depressing influences, I took her in my wagon 
aud drove her from the Yellow Medicine to St. Paul. When 
I arrived with my charge at the old Fuller House, which stood 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACRE OF 1867. 399 

on the northeast corner of Jackson and Seventh streets, and 
was then the leading hotel in the city, kept by "Steve Long 
& Bbo./^ the news spread like a prairie fire that one of the cap- 
tives had arrived. Having the best interest of the poor woman 
at heart, I concluded that it w&s legitimate to take advantage 
of the generous outburst of sympathy on the part of the St. 
Paul people, so I turned her over to Mrs. Long, the landlady 
of the hotel, with instructions to keep her entirely secluded; 
to procure for her the most eflfective widows weed's attainable 
in the market, and to notify me when she would be ready for 
presentation in her role of rescued captive. As an artist, 
Mrs. Long was a success. When she had dressed our subject, 
no man could look upon her without opening his heart and 
purse. She was a black statue of woe and grief. 

Here I must say, that before I had time to try the eflTect of 
Mrs. LoNG^s art on the public, a meeting was held in the 
office of the hotel, and one thousand dollars was raised for 
Mrs. Marble, and handed to me to be used for her as I should 
think best. I turned the woman and the money over to 
Governor Medart. She remained several weeks in St. Paul, 
and then went down the river; when she left, the Governor 
gave her $250 of the money, and deposited the balance in 
one of our banks, at three per cent, per month, for her bene- 
fit. Of course the bank failed, and that was the end of Mrs. 
Marble so far as I know, except that I heard that she ex- 
hibited herself at the East, in the role of the rescued cap- 
tive, and the very last information I had of her, was, that she 
went up in a balloon at New Orleans. I leave to future his- 
torians the solution of the problem, whether she ever came 
down again? 

I was in St. Paul when my expedition arrived at the 
agency. I cannot state the date exactly, but it must have 
been about the tenth or twelfth day of June, as they did not 
bring Miss Gardner to me at St. Paul, until about June 20. 
She was accompanied by her rescuers, and one of the Yank- 
tons who came in with the expedition. 

On the 23d day of June, she was formally delivered over 
the governor by the Indians, at the Fuller House, in the 
presence of quite a large company of ladies and gentlemen, 



400 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

who assembled to witness the ceremony. The usual amount 
of speech-making took place, and at the end ot the interview, 
the Yankton Indian presented to Miss Qabdneb a head dress 
composed of thirty splendid eagle feathers, called W'mdi-wa- 
pa-ha^ or war cap. 

Miss Gardner was a young woman of about eighteen 
years of age, good looking, robust, and apparently not much 
injured in body by her terrible trial. She was sent to her 
friends in the neighborhood of Fort Dodge, Iowa. Some 
time afterward I received a pamphlet written by some one in 
Iowa, giving a history of the family, and the tribulations of 
tliis particular member of it. I regret that I did not save it 
for record in the archives of your society. It would have 
afforded amusement for future antiquaries who will be 
digging among your files some of these days. 

I returned at once to the Indian country, after disposing 
of Miss Gardner, and on the 27th day of June, 1857, settled 
with my Indians for their services in her rescue. I paid each 
of the three Indian $400, and took the following voucher: 

Territory of Minnesota. 
To Maza-ku'ta-ma-ni^ An-pe-tu-tok-cha and Che'tan-maza, debtor. 

June 27, 1857. 
For rescuing Miss Gardner from captivity amongr Ink-pa-du-ta^i 
band of Indians, and for services performed in attempting the rescue of 
Mrs. Noble from tbe same Indians, and for all services performed by 

them in and about said matter $1,200.00 

Received, Sioux Agency, June 27, 1857, of Samuel Med art, Governor 
of Minnesota, twelve hundred dollars in full of this account. 

Maza-ku-ta-mani, X mark. 
Au'pe-iU'fok'Cha, X mark. 
C/.e-tan-maza, X mark. 
I certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, and 
that I have actually this 27th day of June, 1857, paid the amount thereof. 

Chas. E. Flandrau." 
. We witnessed the payment of the said money and the signatures of 
said Indians. 

Stewart B. Garvie. 
A. J. Campbell, Interpreter. 

I al^o made a good many presents to Indians who had been 
kini to Mrs. Mvhble, ani Miss Glrdxer, bat not exceed- 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACRE OF 1857. 401 

ing in amount over one hundred dollars. My advances were 
all refunded from the appropriation, and the balance ^^covered 
into the treasury/' to use a modern expression. 

I was ordered by the United States Government 'to inves- 
tigate and report the facts in the case, and the measures 
which hi my judgment were best calculated to redress the 
grievances and prevent their recurrence in the future." 

I had become so thoroughly convinced of the imbecility of 
a military administration, which clothed and equipped its , 
troops exactly in the same manner for duty in the tropical 
climate of Florida, and the frigid region of Minnesota, that I 
took advant^e of the invitation^ to lay before the authorities 
some of my n6tions as to what was the proper thing to do, 
and you will excuse me if I repeat some of them here, I 
believe twenty years has enlightened that non-progressive 
institution, to the extent of furnishing the soldiers in this 
latitude, with buffalo overcoats and snow packs. I can only 
account for this deviation from the practice of the past 
hundred years, however, on the theory that the climate is 
becoming decidedly milder. 

I reported on the 27th of August, 1857, and after insisting 
on a force of not less than four hundred mounted men, to be 
kept during the summer in the field, between the Big Sioux 
and the James rivers, and the balance of the season at well 
selected posts on the frontier. I added as follows: 

^'AJl troops in this country should be drilled to travel on snow-shoesy 
because during the entire winter, it is next to impossible to travel without 
them, where there are no roads, which will generally be the case where 
Indians will lead soldiers in a chase. The Indians all have snow-shoes 
aud know how to use them, and will make twenty miles, where a man 
with shoes or boots on, will become exhausted and fail in five. Without 
snow-shoes and the accompanmg moccasins, and change of dress to adapt 
a soldier to the climate and country he is to act in, the superiority of the 
Indian, who is furnished with all these appliances, is so great as to render 
the soldier, how good so ever he may be, as a man, utterly useless. 

The ordinary means of transportation in the army is, as you well know, 
by heavy wagons drawn by mules. In the winter these wagons are 
placed upon sleds, and where there are roads for them to go upon, they 
can do well enough. But, as I have before said, it will be very seldom if 



402 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

ever, that troops will be called upon to act in a country where there are 
roads of any kind made in the snow, consequently these sleds and mules 
are useless. 

The mode of tranportation in all extreme northern countries in the win- 
ter is with dogs and trains; they pass over the surface of the snow, and 
can be followed by men on snow-shoes anywhere. A party with an outfit 
of this kind, with provision to correspond, would be efficient in the winter, 
where the present United States soldier of any arm, with the usual outfit 
and transportation, would accomplish nothing. Let men be placed here, 
then, who wUl at all times and under all circumstances, be superior to 
the enemy they have to contend with, and I would have' no fear of a re- 
currence of the difficulties of last spring. 

The pleasftntest part of this narrative is yet to come. It 
treats of vengeance and retribution. Just about the time I 
had settled up for Miss Gabdneb, either the latter part of 
June or the first of July, I received a note from Sam Brown, 
a brother or cousin of Joseph R. Brown, who was a trader at 
the Yellow Medicine river. The note was written at his tra- 
ding house, and delivered to me at Red Wood by an Indian. 
It contained the startling information that Ink-pa-d'U-ta and 
several of his band were at the Yellow Medicine, and that he 
thought something should be done to either arrest or destroy 
th6m. I held the messenger until I could go to the fort and 
consult Colonel Alexander, as to the best measures to be 
taken to meet the emergency. The Colonel agreed with me 
that an efibrt should be made to punish these rascals, and he 
gave me a lieutenant and fifteen men for the duty. It fell to 
Mr. Murray, of Captain Bee's company, to command the 
squad, the same officer who had been on the Spirit Lake expe- 
dition. He marched his men up to the Red Wood Agency, 
a distance of thirteen miles, where he arrived at about 5, p. m. 
I was ready for him, and had wagons to transport his men to 
the Yellow Medicine, a distance of about thirty miles. In 
the meantime I had raised a little expedition of my own to 
accompany him. There were several young gentlemen visit- 
ing me at the -Agency at the time, among whom I remember 
a son of Professor Morse, of telegraphic fame, who had been 
a West Pointer; and a Mr. Charles Jen^^y, a friend of the 
FcTLLERS, who was a character in his way. He had been a great 
traveller; having visited nearly all parts of the world, but 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACRE OP 1857. 403 

most of his voyaging had been by sea, so he had not learned 
to ride on horseback. He was bound to go on the expedition, 
but he absolutely refused to mount a horse, so we had to put 
him in the wagons with the soldiers. My contribution to the 
outfit consisted of Joe Campbell, my interpreter; John Camp- 
bell, his brother, (who was afterwards hanged at Mankato 
by the people, for his participation in the murder of the Jew- 
MT family, in that vicinity), Hippolyte Campbell (who was 
my blacksmith at the time), James Magner (who was my 
chief farmer, a young Irishman of great promise, a splendid 
horseman and a splendid fellow ganerally; he was killed in 
the late war, while leading his company, of which he was 
Captain, in an engagement, the name of which I cannot now 
recall), and some half dozen more of white men and half- 
breeds, together with Morse, Jennet and myself. I mounted 
all my men but Jennet, and each man had a shot gun and a 
revolver. 

As soon as I had learned that I could get the soldiers, I sent 
the Indian messenger back to Sam Brown, with a note telling 
him that I should leave the Red Wood Agency for the Yellow 
Medicine river at dark, and that he must send a party to meet 
me on the road, who could guide the expedition to the camp 
where Ink-pa -du-ta and his people were supposed to be. 

With these preparations we set out about dark. The dis- 
tance from the Red Wood Agency to the Yellow Medicine 
river is about thirty miles. The Redwood and Yellow Medi- 
cine rivers flow into the Minnesota on about parallel lines, 
from the west, with a distance between them of about twenty 
miles by the road as traveled in those days. The country be- 
tween the two rivers is a level prairie, with a curious Butte, 
or elevation, situated about half way between them. This 
Butte is famous as being the point where a great battle took 
place between the Sioux and Chippewas, lasting four days. 
The rifle pits made by the Sioux on the occasion of this fight, 
are well defined to this day. From the top ot the hill, the 
timber of both rivers is plainly visible. I might say here, 
that in the Sioux country, all trails pass over the top of every 
elevation on the route. These Indians were at war with every 
tribe around them except the Winnebagoes, and led a life of 



404 MIKKE80TA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

vigilant watchfulness. They were constantly on the lookout 
for an enemy, who was liable to appear at any moment, and 
when he did appear, somebody had to die. In traveling they 
always went to the top of every hill, to look out. The habits 
of these people on a march, always made me think of a wolf 
whose ears are constantly pricked for sound, and who seems 
to sleep with one eye open. 

When we arrived at the hill, those of us who were mounted 
of course went to the top of it. There we found An-pe-tu- 
tok-cha^ or Mr. Other Day, whom Browit had sent down to 
escort us to the camp of Ink-pa-du-ta. This was the same 
man who had formed one of the expedition which ransomed 
Miss Gardner. He was seated on the summit of the mound 
with his pipe in his mouth, and, Indian like, did not show the 
slightest sign of recognition or interest, but waited to be 
spoken to. He informed us that there were some of Inh-pa-- 
du-ta's people at the Yellow Medicine. How many he did 
not know, but he knew where the camp was that held them. 
He described it as a camp of six lodges, standing separate 
from all the others, and up the river about five miles from 
the Agency. How, I asked him,, are we to distinguish the 
people we are after, from the rest ? His answer was, "you 
charge down on the camp, and when they see the soldiers, 
they will know who they are after, and any of Ink-pa-du-ta's 
people that are there, will run or show fight, the rest will re- 
main passive." Job Campbell confirmed this view, and we 
decided to seize or kill any one who fled, and take the chances 
of their being the right ones. With this plan, we started for 
the Yellow Medicine under the guidance of Other Day. We 
reached the river at the point where we proposed to cross, just 
in the gray of the morning. The camp we were after was in 
plain view on the north side of the river, on a high plateau of 
land, and about one mile up stream from the point where we 
were to ford. In approaching the river, we had exercised the 
utmost stealth — creeping noiselessly along, and keeping be- 
tween us and the enemy a roll of the prairie. The intense 
earnestness and nervous anxiety -exhibited by Other Day, 
and his snake-like movements, were a study. I had seen a 
good deal of Indian life, but this was the first time I had ever 



THE INK-PA-DU-TA MASSACfRE OF 1867. 405 

been on the war-path with them, and I saw an exhibition of 
skill that has furnished me with a key to all the Indian am- 
buscades I have since read of, and explained those mysterious 
appearances and disappearances of Indians, that all frontiers- 
men are so familiar with. No panther ever stole upon its 
prey with more deadly silence and certainty, than we did on 
this occasion, under the conduct of this savage. 

The six lodges were upon the open prairie, about a quarter 
of a mile from the bank of the river. To get to the river 
from the camp, this distance had to be traversed, and the river 
lay about forty or fifty feet below the level of the prairie by 
a precipitous descent. The banks of the tiver were covered 
with a dense chaparral, forming an excellent cover. We knew 
that if any Indians ran, they would make for the river. Lieu- 
tenant Murray was to command the military part of the 
affair, and the plan of operations was as follows : The soldiers, 
were to take a double-quick up the river on the prairie in the 
direction of the camp, and endeavor to cut off a retreat to the 
river, while the mounted men weie to take the op.'n prairie 
outside of the camp, and virtually make a surround. As soon 
as all was ready, the word of command was given, and off we 
went. The night had been a hot one, and the lodges were 
rolled up at the bottom so as to admit a circulation of 
air, which also gave a person inside an opportunity of seeing 
what was going on, on the outside. It was not long before 
our presence was made known to the inmates of the camp. 
The unusual spectacle of a dozen horsemen furiously charg- 
ing over the prairie, and a squad of soldiers leggitig it as fast 
as they could after them, could not remain long up noticed. 
When we had arrived within about half a mile of the camp 
an Indian having a squaw by the hand, ran from one of the 
lodges in the direction of the river. They went like the wind. 
Other Day and Joe. Campbell immediately said, "That's 
our man," and the rifles began to crack. The soldiers opened 
on him at long range, and several shots were fired from the 
party on horseback. Whether he was hit or not, we could not 
tell, except by the fact that he did not fall, but made the river 
successfully. He had a double-barreled shot-gun in his hands, 
and as he could not be seen in the brush by us, and we could 



406 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS, 

be seen by him oa the river bottom, and the top of the bluff 
outside of it, the situation was not agreeable, and I expected 
every moment to see a man fall. He fired four shots; one 
bullet struck the cartridge-box of one of the soldiers, which 
he had drawn around to his left side for convenience in load- 
ing, and turned it inside out, destroying all his ammunition. 
All his other shots missed. At each discharge of his gun, a 
volley would be fired into the point where the flash came 
from, and he was riddled with bullets. A soldier then crawled 
up and dispatched him with a thrust of his sabre bayonet. 

We took the squaw and put her into one of our wac^ons, 
and started down the river for the Agency. The object of 
taking the squaw, was to find out from her who the Indian 
was whom we had killed, and to get such other information 
from her as we could; but we had not calculated all the con- 
sequences of making her a prisoner, which developed after- 
wards. 

In going from the point where we had killed the Indian to 
the Agency we had to pass through the camps of irom seven 
to ten thousand Indians. The excitement among them was 
terrible. The squaw kept up a howling such as a squaw in 
distress only can make. The Indians swarmed about us, guns 
in hand, and scowled upon us in the most threatening man- 
ner, making demonstrations of hostility that made our little 
band feel how utterly we were at their mercy had they opened 
on us. I then began to realize the desperate temerity of the 
enterprise. Our salvation was simply the moral force of the 
government that was behind us. We reached the Agency 
buildings in safety, and took possession of a log hotise, where 
we remained several days in a state of sleepless anxiety, until 
relieved by Major Sherman with the famous old Buena Vista 
battery, who had been ordered up from Fort Snelling to at- 
tend the payment. 

We felt, while holding our position in this house, very much 
like the man who was chased by a bear, and finally seized his 
paws around a tree; he wanted somebody to help him let go. 

The major had about sixty men with the battery, and we 
afterward received a reinforcement of several companies 



1 



--■>■ 



THE tNK-PA-DU-TA MASSACRE OF 1857. 407 

under Major Patten, who was on his way to Ridgely from 
some point on the Missouri, either Pierre or Randall, or Lar- 
amie to the west, I do not now remember. 

The Indian we killed was the eldest son of Ink-pa-du-ta^ 
and one of the head devils in the Spirit Lake and Springfield 
massacres. He had a wife or a sweetheart among the Indians 
at the Yellow Medicine river, and had ventured to come over 
to see her. His visit cost him his life. There were no 
others of the band at the agency, or probably I would not 
have been here to tell the story. 

Colonel Alexander, who aided me in all these matters so 
materially, is now a retired officer of the army, residing in 
St. Paul, esteemed by all who know him, as a gallant soldier 
and a genial gentleman should be. Captain Bee was by force 
of circumstances, and against his better judgment, induced to 
go into the Confederacy, and was killed at the first battle of 
Bull Ban, while gallantly leading his brigade in that action. 
Lieutenant Murray did good service for the Union in the war 
as a soldier, and I heard that he was retired on account of 
wounds or of some other disability. 

Ink'pchdu-ta is dead, and I am sorry to say, died a natural 
death, honored by his people as one of the best haters of the 
whites in the whole Sioux nation. No other member of hi? 
band was ever punished for the Spirit-Lake massacre that I 
ever heard of. 

I have penned this narrative largely from memory, having 
few documents to refer to, so there may be some inaccuracies 
in the recital; but I can safely say it is substantially correct 
in all material particulars. 

St. Paul, December 8, 1879. 



INDEX. 



American Board of Ck>mmls8loners of Foreign Mission. . ..381, 381, 869 370, 373 

374, 377 
Adams, Bev. Moses X., a missionary 122, 123 

Agassiz, Louis, the naturalist 850 

Agate Bay, Lake Superior 353 

Agency of Sioux, on Missouri River 111,113,125,209,388,390 

Agriculture among the Dakotas 191,251 

in Minnesota, thought impossible 160,269,270 

Alrd, an early Indian Trader 148 

Aitkin, Wm. A., an Indian Trader 138,248,344 

Alton, Jno.F., a missionary 122,123 

Albany, N. Y., mentioned 349 

Alexander, Col. E. B., U. S. A 390,392,396,397,402,407 

Aldrich, Cyrus, Congressman from Mimi 48, 218 

Aidrlch, Dexter, father of Cyrus 213 

Algonquin, or OJibwa, stock 171 

' Alton, 111. mentioned 213,296 

AUonez, Claude, a pioneer of New France 335 

American Flag, first hoisted on Lake Superior 345 

American FurCo 176,192.198,196,224.278,343,344,374 

American influence, advent of, on the Lakes 342 

American system of dealing with Indians 162 

Ander8on,Dr. C. L 27 

Andrews. Hon. C. C. Works mentioned 21 

Anpotutokltcha, (John Other- day,) whom see 

Any wanymane, Simon, a friendly Dakota 86, 89, 119, 126, 12P, 190 

Angelo. Michael, referred to J36 

Apostle Islands, Lak« Superior .352 

Archaeology, of Lake Superior 334 

Arnold, Mrs. W.J. Work referred to 80 

Arrow, an Indian chief 164 

Astor, John Jacob, the Fur Trader, ^ 176,192,343 

Athabasca Lake, British North America 347 

Atllixco, Mexico, battle of --Sia 

Atkln8on,Col. U. S. A : lO 

Atlantic Ocean 354 

Atwater, Isaac, an early Jurist 273 

Aunger, A. a pioneer of the N. W. drowned 150. 

Austin, Horace. ex-Gov 297 

Austrian, Julius, a trader on Lake Superior 344 

Bailiy, Alexis, a trader among the Dakotas 245,248,319 

Baker, Hon. James H.— paper by 333 

Balm of Gilead,tree. OJibwaname of 837 

Baldwin School. St. Paul, referred to MfOl 

Bancroft, Geo., the historian, quoted 338 



INDEX. 409 

Baptism, of first male Dakota convert 188 

Bapt ism , of 300 Dakota prisone rs 127, 379 

Bassett's Creek, HeDnepin county, referred to 369 

Bates, Mr. An early trader in tbe N. W 167 

Battle of Antietam, mentioned 823 

Ball'sBlufl, " 322 

Bull's Run, " 322 

Bunker Hill, " 352 

Perry's Nlctory. •* 352 

South Mountain," 323 

Birch Doolie, " 280 

'WcKMlLake, *• , 101 

Battles of Mexican War 187»315 

Bayfleld,Lt.HenryW.— British Navy 360 

Bays, of Lake Superior 363 

Baxter, an English Trader 340 

Bears, get fat by sucking their paws in winter! 9 

Beaulleu, Clement H. Trader among OJibwas 248, 344 

Becker, Hon. Geo. L. A pioneer of Minnesota , 304 

Bee, Capt, Barnard £.,U. S. A 390,391,392,402,407 

Beech Tree, sacred to the Dakotas, 163 

Begging, by the Indians 147,148,161,164 

Bell Fontaine, Mo 147 

Belle Flaine, Minn ....260.319 

Bellin, speaks of Otchaga's Map 2 

Beltrami , Constantlne, early explorer of Minnesota 19, 42, 103 

Bemau, Rev. Dr., Troy, N. Y t.... 304, 306 

Bennington , Vt., mentioned 180, 186, 187 

Benson, Minn., mentioned '. 360 

Benton, Hon. Thos. H., mentioned 316 

Berthier, Canada, me utioned 168 

Bible, translated into Dakota 366,375,382 

Bibliography of Minnesota, paper on 13 

Bienville, De, leaves for France, &c., 2, 4 

Big Curly, a Dakota Chief 99 

Big Eagle, a Sauk Chief 164 

Big Hum, (river) Montana 286,287,290 

Big Stone Lake, Minn 186, 202, 2I0. 260 

Big Thunder, (Dakota ChiefX See Little Crow 

Big Woods of Minnesota 319, 820 

Big Sioux River, Dakota 388,383,401 

Blloxl, fort, Bienville examines stores at 4 

Birch Coolie, battle of. 280 

Bishop, Miss Harriet £., her works 21,26,60 

Biting noses, a Dakota pastime 100 

Black Dog, a Dakota Chief 132,134 

Black Hawk, the Chief 143,344 

Black Thunder, a Dakota Chief 142 

Black Hills 236,288,289,290,291,292 

Bliss, Maj. commander at Fort Snelling 369 

Bloomington, Ind., mentioned 314,323,324 

Bloomington, Mian., mentioned 283,366,362,364,966, 371 

Bloody Run, Wis 183 

Blue Earth county, Minn., mentioned 27,28 

Blue Earth City, history of, referred to 29 

Blue Earth River, Minn ., mentioned 2, 11, 133 



• 



410 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Blum, Mrs. Iiouls, of St. Paul 319 

Boilvin, Nicholas, agent for Dakotaa 141 

Boisbriant* M, de, mentioned by Penlcaud 4 

Bulger, Col., British commmander at Prairie du Cbien 176 

Bond, J. Wesley, bis works referred to 20 

Books, in Dakota 128 

Books, relating to M inn esota, list of ! 13 

Boone, Daniel , referred to 184 

Borup, Dr. C. W. Trader on Lake Superior 248, 344 

Boston, Mass., referred to 351 

Bottineau, Pierre, a pioneer of Minnesota .226 

Bouet, Francis, copyist of Penlcaad's Ms : 3 

Boundary, changes affecting Minnesota 265 

Bourgne, (or Tahama,) a Dakota brave 150, 165 

Brackett, Geo, A., of Minneapolis 215 

Breed, Rev. David R., St. Paul .363, 364 

Bremer, Miss Frcderika, the authoress 10 

Bribing a Governor, attempted 317 

British, capture Prairie du Chien ,....175 

British Government, their mode of dealing with Indians 162 

British Parliament.. Fur Go's, dispute examined by 34^ 

Brooke, Gen. U. S. A ...197 

Brooks . Rev. Jabez, pioneer clergyman 56 

Btown , Joseph R , memoirs of 201 , 204, 206 

Brown, Joseph R., mentioned 31, 68, 111, 247, 267, 27D, 319} 402 

Brown, Nathaniel ill 

Browne, J. Ross, a Government detective 317 

Browne, S. F., a trader 402,403,404 

Brules, or half-breeds 342 

Brule River 246 

Bryant, Chas. 8. His history quoted 35, 93. 150 

Buchanan, James, president of U. S 321 

Buell, Salmon A., of St. Peter. 93 

Buena Vista, battle of 315 

Buffaloes , 7,347,256 

Bull Run, battle of 407 

Bunker Hill, battle of 262 

Burnet, Judge J acob, of Ohio 277 

Bushnell, Rev. George, quoted 358 

Cadle, Rev. R. F, of Detroit , 278 

Cadotte, Michael, of LaPointe 339 

Calhoun, Hon. J. O 16,315 

California, discovery of Gold 286 

Camp Coid water, (Ft. Snelling) 177 

Cameron, Hon. J. Don,— mentioned 294 

Cameron, Hon. Simon, referred to 197 

Campbell, Colin, a Sioux trader 172, 173 

Campbell , A. J ., a half-breed 400 

Duncan, an early resident of Mendota 278 

Hy polite, government blacksmith 403 

John, a half-breed 403 

Joseph, interpreter to Dakotas 403, 406, 605 

Scott, Unite d States Interpreter 225, 229 

Camp Release, Minnesota 126 

Canada, various references to 168, 172, 173,349 

its proposed ship canal at Sault Ste Marie 348 



nn)EX. 411 

Canadian For Traders pillaged by Indians 7 

Canadian Pacific Railroad 351 

Canals at Sault Ste Marie S47 

Cannon River, Minn 248» 260. 260, 261 

Cape Gros, Lake Superior 352 

Cape Iroquois, Lalce Superior 352 

Captain Soott's Coon, the story ef 186 

Captivities among Indians, narratives of 36 

Captives taken by Indians, 83,84,100,126,280,380,390 

Carll,Dr.C., of Stillwater 206 

Carrlngton, Col., U. 8. A 286 

Carver, Jonathan, mentioned 4, 15,68, 148, 160,346 

Cars, first train of , at Ft. Snelling 105 

Cass, Lewis, mentioned 277,345 

Castle, Hon. Henry A., reference to 68 

Catalogue, of works relating to Minnesota 13 

Catbolicity, in Minnesota 222 

Catlin, George, the Indian painter 34 

Cavenaugh, Hon. James M., of Minnesota referred to 32 

Cedar River, Minnesota, (or **Red Cedar") 257,200,264 

Cemeteries mentioned 210, 327, 360 

Chagoucmig, Lake Superior 339 

Chambers, Col., of the Ameriean rlfiemen 176 

Champlain, Samuel, the French navigator 335 

Cha-pah-sln-tay, J. B.Faribault's wife 177,178 

Charleville, a Canadian, visits St. Anthony Falls 3 

Charlevoix, the historian , quoted 2. 12, 15 

Chase, Hon. Salmon P., reference to 316 

Chaska. a loyal Dakota 209 

Chatfield, Hon. A. G., referred to 26 

Chetanmaza, rescuer of Miss Gardner 396, 400 

Cheyennes, the 283,284 

Chicago, 111., mentioned *. 167,214,215,232 

Child, James £ . , his history of Waseca county, mentioned 28 

Chilllcothe, O., mentioned 370,373,374 

China, overland route to, predicted .' 1 

Chippewa Falls, Wis 228 

Chippewa River, "Wis , 130 

Minn 134,360 

Chlppewas. See OJibwas 

Chlvington, Col., U.S.A. 285 

Chouteau, Pierre & Co., St. Louis 196.344 

Church, first built at Lac qui Parle 119 

first built at St. Paul 227,229,230 

Presbyteriau orgauized at Fort Snelling 116 

Churches organized among Dakotas 380,381 

. history of in Minnesota 63 

Churchill River, British North America 339 

Clarke, Mrs. Cnarlotte A., mentioned 77,165 

Malcolm, sketch of 79 

Clarke, MaJ. Nathan, commissary at Fort Snelling n, 156 

Gov. William, Supt Indian Affairs '. 160,163 

Clarksville, Mo 141,143,169 

Clayton county, Iowa 265 

Cieigyman, the profession of 301,307 

45 



412 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Clewett James R., an old settler of Minnesota 2fl9 

Cloth, the first woven In Minnesota 110 

Coast Survey 349 

Coe, Rev. Alvin, a missionary 115, 116 

Coffin , C. C. of Boston, his works noticed 24, 48 

Coincidence, a, by Mrs. C. O. Van Cleve 108 

Cold Weather in Minnesota, described by Fenicaut 8 

ColesoD, Miss Anna, her captivity among the Indians as 

Coloney. Myron, author of a work 58 

Colorado, noticed 255 

Columbus, Ohio, noticed 32i 

Colfimbia, Oregon, mentioned 942 

Columbia River, Oregon, mentioned 284 

Comets, a prophecy of disaster 145 

Commerce of Lake Superior 947 

Common School Fimd of Minnesota 381 

Comstock, Gen. C. B., of the British Engineer Corps 348 

Connecticut, 368,367,373 

Constitutional Convention, Iowa 234 

Minnesota. .# 34, 202,215,279,331 

Cooke, Jay. a capitalist, mentioned 851 

Cooper, David, an early Jurist of Minnesota. 267 

Copper implements, aboriginal 334,362 

Copper mine, mentioned by Fenlcaud 5, 8, 10. 11 

Copper mines on Lake Superior 349 

Corey, Miss Julia, (afterwards Mrs. Bailly.) 319 

Coming, Hon. Erastus,of N.T., mentioned 347 

Cotean des Prairies, Dakota Ter 87,247,248,260,380 

Cottonwood trees, great size of, mentioned by Penicaud 9 

Cottonwood river, Minnesota 2C0 

Couriers des bois,or voyageurs, which see 

Counties of Minnesota, histories of 28 

Cowardtee of t he Dakotas 162 

CuursoUe, Joe, a half-breed guide 390 

Courts, early, in Minnesota , 267 

Craig, Captain Thos. E.. censured 139, 145 

Crawford, Mr. agent N. W. Fur Co 171,173 

Crawford, Capt. of the Virginia, first steamer at Ft. Snelllng 108 

Crawford couuty, Wis 210 

Crazy Horse, a Dakota chief 280,281 

Cretin, Bishop, reference to 228,269 

Crockett, David, mentioned 184 

Crook, Gen. G., mentioned 291,292 

Crooks, Ramsey, the fur trader 194,278,343 

Crooks, CoL Wm., of St. Paul 280,348,344 

Crow Creek, D. T •••• 381 

Crow Wing, Minnesota * 286 

Crow Wing river, Minnesota. 345 

Crows, the 283 

Crittenden, J. D. Afurtrader 844 

Cmger, Capt, Wm. E., mentioned 76 

Culver, George, a fur trader 235,818 

Culver, J. B„ mentioned \ sso 

Cumberland House, British North America 389 

Cuun Ingham, H. D., mission assistant .u 125 

Curtis, Gen. 8. B., mentioned 288 



INDEX. 413 

Glister, Gen . Geo. A., mentioned 288, 292, 203 

Dacau, or D'Ako, Sicur, met by Duluth. ... 2 

Dalikota, a town site on the St. Croix 209,211 

Dakotas, the, or Sioux, ihelr probable European origin 384 

Dakotas, the largest and most warlike tribe in 1680 374 

Dakotas, probably visited by Frenchmen as early as 1669 1 

Dakotas, referred to by Fenleaut 5,6,7,8 

the Yarious nations of, according to Fenleaut 6, 7 

the Missouri River tribes of 283 

theTetons, or Tintonha 284,376,381 

theCheyennes 283,284, 

the Mde ?rakanton wans 86, 86, 260, 261 , 387 

the Sissetons 11, 83,84.86,260 

the Tankt«ns. 157,171.174,284,286,387,388,400 

the Wa-pe-kutes 84,99, 172,260 

follow Jewish customs 162 

assisted the Brltisb during the war of 1812 162 

their feud with the Ojlbwas, Its origin 838 

goods shipped to them as early as 1819, 140 

names of their principal chiefs in 1834 2% 

their warfare with their enemies. 129,147 

their fright at the first steamboat 104 

their removal to the Upper Minnesota in 1863 317 

removed from the State after the massacre 242, 268 

gradual change in their habits 124 

they begin to learn agriculture and weaving i... 19 

their customs, etc. How they conducted hunts 259,261 

" •* theirfeasts 268 

" " " "kaow nothing about intrigue." 161 • 

•* " " ^'celebrated for hospitality." 161 

" *• their religious views 188 

" " " authority and law, how enforced among them .... 261 

" " " agriculture amongst them 261 

theirgrief at Bev.G.H.Fond'8 death 871 

" " " their war customs 135 

'* ** ** customs regarding bodies of slain 263 

" " their cowardice 162 

" " *' nose-bltlng one of their pastimes 100 

"a troublesome set of beggars." 147, 148 

** '* ** "a poor, indolent, beggarly, drunken set." 161 

" " " their honesty 381 

** '* " their mode of conducting hunts . . « 266, 258 

** *' ** how they cure disease 190 

'* *' *' their treatment of women; polygamy. 89, 118, i88, 188 

,* '* ** opposed to education 121 

*' " those "civilized" enfranchised by act of legU- 

lature 112 

" they kill the missionaries cattle 118. 377 

" " ** their medicine men and their influence 368 

'* '* *' religions movements among them 876 

no missionary work among them *tilll834 359 

beginning of missionary work among them 373 

history of the Dakota Mission 116,868 

the first male Dakota convert l88 

baptism of 20O or 300 Dakotas in prison 127,379 

Dakota churches on theMlssoari river 380,881 



4U MIKHESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Dakotas, the christian Dakotas saved many lives in 1862 191 

Bibliography of works relating to the nation 34, 37 

printing of Dakota books 120 

demand for reading matter, by educated Dakotas 128 

the language first reduced to writing no, 268 

the Dakota Grammar and Dictionary 40,123,376 

learning and translating the language, by the missionaries. . . .361, 366. 387 

the massacre of 1862, by the Dakotas, see Mabbacrb, etc 

Dakota county, Minnesota, referred to 28,210,260 

Dakota Friend, the, a missionary paper 39, 367 

Dakota Presbytery 122,361,362.368,380 

Dakota Territory 274, 275,279,280,282 

Daniels, Dr. J. W., agent forthe Dakotas 89,102.291,294 

Davenport, Geo. L,, of Davenport, Iowa 142 

Davenport, Iowa, mentioned 128,280,379,880,381 

Davis, Ex-Governor G. K 323, 326. 328 

Davis, Jefferson, once secretary of war 48 

Deban, an interpreter for J. B. Faribault * 171 

De Camp, Mrs., a rescued captive 126 

Dechoquette, an earlv Canadian resident of Minnesota 235, 236 

Declaration of Independence 351 

De Coteaux, a Canadian, killed 172 

Du Luth, (or De Lnth) Capt. J 350 

Denny, Captain of U. S. Infantry 180 

Denton, Rev. M., (or Dentan) a Uwiss missionary 117, 269 

Denton , Mrs. Fersls 117 

Department of Dakota, referred to 280 

D'Eraque, M., a Canadian fur trader 10 

De Salsbury , a British oflScer 169 

Des Moines Rapids, Iowa 158 

Des Moines River, Iowa 171, 174, 254, 386, 38T 

Detroit, Mich., mentioned, 139, 141, 163, 2n, 278 

Devil's I.Ake, D. T 254,282 

Dickinson, Daniel S., mentioned , 315 

Dickson, Col. Robert, a British fur trader 150, 166 

Dike, Wm.H., Major ist Minnesota Volunteers 322 

Dl vol , Mr. , a victim of the massacre of 1862 113 

Dixon, 111 215 

Dodge Henry, Grovemor of Wisconsin 202 

Donnelly, Hon. Ignatius, of Minnesota 21,69,94 

Douglas, Hon. Htepben A., referred to 321, 322 

Dousman, Hercules L., memoir of 192,278 

Michael.. 192,276 

Draper, Dr. L. C, of Wisconsin, foot notes by 139, 140, 143, 150, 158, 160, 163, 167 

Driftwood River, [the Zombro7] 158 

Drowning of various persons 39, 65, 121, 123, 160, 186. 360, 361, 362 

Drummond's Island, Lake Superior ' 170, 173 

DuBoucher, La Perrlere, lands at Lake Pepin, 8 

Dubuque, Iowa, mentioned 223,224 

Du Buque, Julian, proprietor of lead mines 144,174,175 

Duel between Crawford and Campbell 178 

Scott and Keith 181 

Du Luth. Daniel G., leaves Quebec In 1678, &c 2, 374 

Duluth, town of 30, 349. 380, 351,' 354 

Eagle, a Dakota Chief. 320 

Eagle Head, a Dakota chief . 820 



INDEX. 415 

Eastman, Mrs. Mary, authoress 34 

Eastman, Gapt. Setli, U.S. A 34,36.235 

Edgerton, £. 8., of St. Paul *. 92 

Education, the Dakotas opposed at one time 121 

Eggleston, Miss Cordelia, (Mrs. S. W. Pond) 1 18 

Election of Delegate to Congress 237 

Elk, he rds of fioo once seen 256 

Ellet, Mrs. E. F., her works quoted....' 277 

Elliot, the apostle to the Indians 361 

Ellison. W. W., mentioned ; 109 

£1 Pinal, Mexico, battle of 315 

Emerson, Chas. L.. referred to 237 

Emmett, Lafayette, first Chief Justice of the State 237 

End-ot-the-snake, a Yankton Indian 396 

EyansvUle, Ind., mentioned 324 

Ewings, W. O. and G. W., Winnebago traders 234 

Execution of Indian murderers at Ft. Snelling 81 

Execution of Indian murderers at Maukate 127 

Explorations, early, in northwest 13, 243 

Fairbanks, John H., an early trader with the OJibwas 344 

Fairbanks, Joseph, contractor on Sault Canal 347 

Falls of St. Anthony 131,132,133,193,307 

Faribault, Alex, (son ^ J. B. F.). . . . 173. 178, 225, 228, 248, 251, 251, 256, 257, 260, 

261, 265, 319 

Faribault, Bartholomew, (father of J. B. P.) 168, 172 

Faribault, David, (son of J. B. F.) 178 

Faribault, Jean Bte., his memoir, etc 168. 247 

Faribault, Miss Lucy, (Mrs. Alexis Bailly.) 319 

Faribault, Oliver, (son of J. B. F.) 178 

Faribault, town of 52, 54,173,178,250,297 

Faribault county 29 

Farrington, John, a trader • 319 

Feasts, of the Dakotas 258 

Featherstonhaugh, G. W. the Geologist ii, 18 

Fetterman, Lieutenant Col., massacre of 287 

Fillmore county, history of , mentiened 26 

First church among the Dakotas 376 

bell in Minnesota 119 

cloth made in Minnesota 119 

house In Hennepin county 360 

Minnesota Regiment 217, 322, 329 

Presbyterian church in Minnesota 116 

sermon (Protestant) in St. Paul 378 

Flske, Captain J. L., his expedition to Idaho 32 

Five Million Loan 324 

Flandrau, Hon. Chas. E.....~ 83,93,280,386,388 

his paper on the Inkpaduta massacre 386 

Fletcher, Gen. J. E., Winnebago agent 234 

Flood in the Mississippi River in 1822 177 

Folle Avoines, (Menomonees) 146 

Folwell, Col. W. W., Inaugurated President of State University 58 

Fond-du-Lac, Minnesota 345, 350 

Forbes, Wm. H 248,264,266,257,319 

Forsyth, Major Thos., Indian agent 139, 140, 143 

Forsyth, William, (father of MaJ. T. Forsyth) 139 

Forsyth, Robt, (son of do) 140 



416 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Fort Beauhamols, erected ou Lake Pepin, 1727 3,6 

built by Le Suenr in 1096, OQ Isle Pelee 2 

C.F.Smith, mentioned 286^287 

Deaborn, at Chicago 183 

Dodge, Iowa 400 

Edwards. 141,150,107 

George, Oregon 342 

Laramie 285, 292 

L'HulIUer, built by Le Sueur In 1700 7, 10 

Lyon 285 

Mlchilimackinac, Mich 339 

Niagara 839 

Phil. Kearney 286,287 

Pierre 407 

BandaU • 407 

Reno 286 

Hldgely,Minn 113,211,274,280,319,880 

Rupert, Hudson 's Bay Territory 1 

St Nicholas, built at mouth of Wisconsin River 2 

Ft. Snelling, mentioned, 27, 29, 76. 78, 103, 111, 115, 117, 120, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 
139, 176, 177. 183, 185, 190. 201, 209. 224. 225, 226, 235, 245, 258, 279, 282, 319, 820, 

351,350,361,364,367,368,309,373,374,378.406 

Fort Sully, D. T. 282 

Sumpter, fall of 311, 322 

Thompson, D.T 28,280 

Wadsworth 99,101,102,211 

Fort Wise, Kansas 2S6 

Fort William, Lake Superior 342,350,351 

Foster, Dr. John W., the Geologist 360 

Fountain Cave, St. Paul 210,227 

Foxes, the nation of 11,142,146,148,174,178 

France, mentioned 223, 229 

Franklin, Benjamin 343,353 

Fruzer, Joseph Jack, a well known half-breed 130, 255, 257 

Free Masonry, mentioned 297 

Freeborn, Hon. William, of Red Wing 387 

Freeborn county, named from Hon. Wm. Freeborn 387 

Fremont, J. C. the explorer 254,256,257 

French, the. urged to open trade hither In 1660 l 

military officers of the seventeenth century 243 

the, were the earliest settlers 337, 351 

French, F. B., the historian 14,16 

Fresnlere, Antolne D., killed by the Dakotas 41 

Fresnier's son , a Dakota 100 

Frontenac, de, Couipte, mentluued 335,350,351 

Funerals, noticed 97, 219, 325, 371 

Fur companies, northern 345 

American 176,102, 193, 196,224,378,343,344,374 

Hudson Bay Co 340,341 

li^orthwest 169,170,173,174,176,340,343,346,318 

Canada, wars of , etc 340,341 

Furs, used as circulating medium 339 

Fur trade, by the early French traders 6 

Fur trade, profits of 330 

on Lake Superior 345 

prices In 1700 10 






IKDEX. 417 

Far trade In Minhesota ' 245 

ffeneral references to , 171, 193. 196 

Gale, George , his book d otlced 23 

Gale, Dr. Johu, surgeon U. S. A 181, 182, 183 

Galena, 111., mentioned 214, 388 

Galtlc,Bev.Lueiikn, memoir of, etc 178,222,268 

Game, In Minnesota, abundance of 194, 195,265 

Gardner, Miss Abigail, taken prisoner by Inkpaduta's band... 83, 100, 388, 398, 

399,402,404 

Gardner, Mr. , father of Abigail 389 

Garvte, 8tewart B., victim of tbe massacre of 1862 400 

Gat es. General, of the Be voiutionary war 372 

Gauntlet, running the 79 

Gavin, Rev, Daniel, a Swiss missionary 116,118,269 

Geology of Lake Superior 334, 349 

of Minnesota, works on 18, 22 

Gervais, BenJ. and Pierre, pioneers 226, 227, 228 

Gibbon, Gen. John, U. S. A % 292 

Gilbert, Humphrey, the navigator 1 

Gilflllan, Hon. James, mentioned 297 

Gillam, Captain, visits river Nemiscan 1 

Gillespie, Mr . , an early Indian trader 180, 343 

Gllman, Hon. John M., mentioned 826 

Glencoe, Minnesota, mentioned 274 

Gooding, Mn. Capt. George, an early resident ef Minnesota 165 

Croodhue, James M., first publisher in Minnesota. 66, 210, 203, 273 

County, mentioned 29 

Goodrich, Hon. Aaron, foot note by 271 

Col. EarleS., paper contributed by 296 

do, mentioned 21,31,45,46,63,65,203.204 

GoodRoad.a Dakota Chief 132.134 

Gordon, Hon. H. L., mentioned 68 

Gorman. David L., (father of W. A.) 314 

£. Stone, mentioned, (father of W. A.) 324 

James W., (son of W. A.) 324 

Capt.B. F., QO 324 

Willis A., memoir of, &c 62.314 

Governors of Minnesota, memoirs of. Swift 91 

" Gorman 314 

" Mcdary 321 

*' appointment of 316. 321 

Grace. Rt. Bev. Thos., Bishop of St. Paul 56,225,325 

Grand Encampment, (Tepeeotah) Minnesota 163 

Marafs, (Kaposia) which see 

Portage 340,341,347,300,361 

River, Michigan 169 

Grant of land by Dakotas at Ft. Snelling. 177 

for ship canal at the Sault 347 

Grant Gen. U. a., referred to 280 

Great Slave Lake, British North America, mentioned 341 

Great-Tailed-Eagle, a friendly Dakota Chief 87, 89 

Green Bay, Wisconsin, mentioned 147, 148, 163,351 

Green River, (or Blue River) mentioned by Penlcaut 7 

Grey Cloud, or " Medicine Wood ** Island, mentioned 153, 165, 202. 209. 267 

Grifllth, T. M., Hydrographical Survey 27 

Grosellier, an early explorer, l 



418 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL OOLLECTIONS. 

Guerin, Vetal, one of the pioneers of Minnesota 236, 227, 228 

Hall-that-strikes-itself, a Dakota cliief....i 88 

Hall. H. P., a publisher 45.60,69 

Hamline Uniyersity, mentioned 51,66,60 

Hannibal, Missouri, mentioned 141 

tianchett, A. H., the Geologist, mentioned 360 

Hancock, John, referred to 351 

Hancock, Joseph W., a pioneer missionary 122 

Hanse, Mr., Supt of Indian Affairs, mentioned 173 

Harmon, D. W., his book of travels mentioned 346, 847, 348 

Harney, Gen. W. S.. U. 8. A., mentioned. 285,288 

Harrison , Gen. Wm. H., mentioned 170 

Hastings, Minnesota, referred to 26 

Hays. Sargent John , a pioneer of St. Paul 279 

Hazlewood, Minnesota, mentioned *. 48, 109, 119, 124, 126, 126, 378 

Heard, Hon. Isaac V. D. his history quoted 84,61 

Heaton, Miss Clara, (Mrs. Cyrus Aldrich.) 214 

Heights of lakes, computed 349 

Helena, Ark., mentioned 328 

Henderson, Capt., commander of British Gunboat 175 

Henderson, Minnesota, mentioned 102, HI, 208, 211 

Honnepin, Louis, references to 2, 3, 14, 28, 161, 370 

county of, mentioned 366, 36^ 

Henry, Alexander, the explorer, mentioned 339, 346, 347 

Hewiu, Gtrart, his emigration documents mentioned 23 

Hiawatha, the poem of, quoted from 266 

Hicks,Bev. Mr., a Presbyterian Clergyman 127 

Hildreth's History of the United States, quoted 277 

Hill, Alfred J., of SI. Paul, translator of Pimcaud's MS. 4 

Hinman, Kev. S. D., translator of Prayer-book Into Dakota 42, 127, 269 

His-Thunder, (or C^aska) a Dakota, who saved Spencer's life 86 

Hitchcock, an Illinois ruffian 145 

Hodges, Hon. L. B., an early settler of Olmsted county 234 

Hole-in-tne-Day, the OJlbwa Chief. 36. 66, 130, 181, 134. 361 

Honorie, T., United States Interpreter, St. Louis 166 

Hopkins, Rev. Robert, a missionary 39, 121, 122, 128, 128, 269, 361, 362, 368, 370 

Mrs. (Agnes C. Johnson) 361,362,363,370 

Miss Mavy F., (daughter of Rev. R. H.) 128,362 

Houghton, Dr. Douglass, geologist, mentioned 348 

Hovston county, Minnesota, referred to 28 

Hudson's Bay Company, mentioned 340. 341 

Huggins, Alex G., missionary farmer 116, 118, 119, 122, 268, 374 

Amos W., killed by the Dakotas 41,125 

Miss Fannie, assistant missionary 121, 122 

Hughes, James, a pioneer printer of Minnesota 273 

Humantala, Mexico, battle of 316 

Hunter, (^n. David, U.S. A., at Ft. dnelling 104 

Hunting, in early days, in Minnesota 183, 194, 195, 254 

Hunts, how conducted by the Dakotas 259, 261 

Hupacomaza, a friendly Dakota chief 89 

Hydography, of Lake Superior 348 

of the upper Mississippi , works on 33 

lapi-Oaye, ("the word carrier.) A Dakota religious paper 368 

Illinois, State of , mentioned 213,219 

river , men tloned 140 

Immigration documents, Minnesota 19, 25 



INDEX. 



419 



lodlana, State of, referred to 3i5, 361 

Indian war, of 18W.. 285 

question, the 283 

tribes of Minnesota, works relating to ". 34 

" " see "Dakotas," "Ojibwas," **Wlnnebagos." etc 

iBdians, of New York, referred to. 123 

of Massachusetts, Elliot, the apostle, first preaches to them 351 

of Lake Superior, two centuries ago 336 

management of, by Gov. Gorman 318 

warfare in Minnesota, article by S. W. Pond 129 

American and British systems of managing 162 

revenge for refusal of credit by a trader 347 

their stealthiness and caution while on the war path 138, 403, 404 

their etiquette about eating 248 

their warfare generally not sanguinary 137 

their stolidity 404 

industrial education of the Dakotas lid 

Inkpaduta, or Spirit Lake massacre 386 

the outlaw chief, mentioned 83, lOO, 386, 387, 407 

his son killed by Col. Flandrau's party 407 

Iowa, State of, referred to. . .' 223, 222, 234, 265, 274. 279, 280, 386 

lowas, the tribe of, referred to 5, 141, 142, I67, 174, 283, 284 

Ireland, Rt. Bev. John, Coadjutor Bishop of St. Paul 223, 312, 326, 327 

Iroquois Indians, mentioned 336 

Isantis, the 261 

Isle Pelee, or Bald Island, a fort built on 2, 6 

Isle, Royal, Lake Superior 353, 355 

Jackson, Andrew, President of the United States 79 

Henry, a pioneer settler of St. Paul 228 

James Bay, Biitish North America 360 

James River, D. T., mentioned 401 

Janson, Dr. De Forbin, Catholic Bishop.. 226 

Jefferson, Thomas, quoted 294 

Jenney, Charles 402, 403 

Jesuit Missionaries, mentioned 243. 334 

Jewett Family, near Mankato, murder of 380, 403 

Jewish customs among the Indians. 162 

Jo Daviess county. III., mentioned 214 

Jogues, Father Isaac, (a Jesuit missionary) 336, 336, 361, 366 

Johnson, Gen. Albert Sidney, U. S. A., mentioned 397 

Johnson, Edw. F., civil engineer, his writings 49, 60 

Johnson Miss Agnes C. (Mrs. Robt. Hopkins) 361, 362, 363, 370 

Joliet, Ills., mentioned 219 

Journalism in Minnesota. 203, 237, 273 

Joseph (Nape-shnee). See Napeshnee-dota. 

Juchereau, M., Criminal Judge at Montreal 11 

Jusserat, or Juchereau, referred to by Penicaud 3 

Justice's court in early days 266, 267 

Kaibokah, a Dakota Chief 133 

Kamnistiqua River, Lake Superior 350 

Kandiyohi, Minnesota, region of *. 134, 274 

Kankakee. Hi., mentioned 170 

Kansas, State of, mentioned 315. 321 

Kaposla (Grand Marias), or Little Crow village, 122, 133, 131,153, 165, 189, 260 

261,266.878,382 

Kearney, Gen. S. W.,U. S. A. 287 



420 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Keating, Wm. H., bis work quoted 11, 16,185 

K«e-e-Hel, " the mftn tbat flies." a Dakota Chief 318 

Keith, a duelist, his encounter with Capt. Scott 181, 182, 183 

Keel boats, used in transportation in early days 140 

Keeserille, N. T.. mentioned 3M,308 

Kent, Be V. Aratus, a pioneer Clergyman at Galena 356 

Kentuck y, State of, mentioned 296, 314, S73 

Keokuk, Iowa, mentioned 229 

Kerr, Bey. A. EL, eulogizes Gov. Swift. t 91 

Kettle, a Fox Oh lef , mentioned l4e 

KilUew, a Dakota Chief, mentioned IM 

King, Hon. Wm. Sk, of Minneapolis, mentioned 3D0 

Kinzie, Joo. H.,an early trader at Chicago 139 

Kittson , N. W., a pioneer of Minnesota 248, 338 

Knickerbocker, Dr., an army surgeon 102 

liabathe, Francois, an early trader in Minnesota 248 

La Chappelle, grand -son of Campbell 173 

Lac qui Parle, Minnesota, mentioned. . .39, 41, 99, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121. 122, 

123, 124, 125, 130, 132, 134, 188, 191, 247, 268, 300, 367, 380, 382, 393, 374, 376, 376, SH 

La Framboise, Joseph, a half-breed 247, 248, 380 

La Harpe's, Louisiana, referred to 3 

La Hon tan , Baron , h is book 14 

Lake Athabasca, British North America 341 

Lake Calhoun, Minnesota 115, 117, 134, 260, 268, 360, 366, 367, 374 

Lake Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka, mentioned 303 

Lake Harriet, mentioned 116, 117, 118, 131, 132, 136, 366, 377 

Lake Hiron, mentioned 349 

Lake Itasca ; Minnesota, mentioned 348 

Lake Michigan, mentioned 5, 183,348 

Lake Ontario, mentioned 349 

Lake Pepin, Minnesota 6, 148, 168, 166, 194, 196, 246, 249, 266, 366 

Lake of the Woods, mentioned 248 

Lake Saint Croix 249 

Lake Superior, mentioned 1,163,161,106,243,246,248,333,337 

Lake Superior, the Ojibwa name oL 337 

Gen. J. H. Baker's paper on 333 

Lake Trayers, Minnesota, mentioned 247, 250 

Lake Winnipeg, reached by Veranderie, in 1734 — 3 

Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis 219, 360 

Lamprey. Morris, a lawyer of St. Paul 326 

LamsoD, Chauncy, kills Little Crow 264 

Lancaster, Pa., mentioned 201 

Lance, the , a Sauk chi ef 143, 166 

Land grant for ship canal at Sault 347 

Land's End, a point near Fort Snelling 209 

Land sales at St. Croix Falls, Wis., in 1848 244 

Lane, Hon. James H., mentioned 815 

Lane Ceminary, Cincinnati 362, 370, 379. 373 

Lanman, Charles, his canoe voyage 18 

Langlade. M., a pioneer of Wisconsin 339 

Language, of the Dakotas • 37, HO, 268 

La Pointe, Mr., interpreter to J. B. Faribault 172 

La Pointe, Lake Superior, mentioned 246, 344, 345, 3S0, 351 

La Salle, Cavalier, sends Hennepin to Minnesota 2 

Law, how enforced among the voyageurs 246 

Lawrence, Lorenzo, a friendly Dakota 86, 125 



INDEX. 421 

Lea, Lt. Albert M., hts expedition referred to 17, 18 

Lead mines of Dubuque 144, 146, 174 

Leaf, the, or *' Wabasha," which see 

Leavenworth, Coi. Henry, mentioned.... 139, 149, 154, 169, 156, 169, 164, 166, 176, 177 

Leavenworth, Kansas 149 

Le Claire, Antoine, early Indian trader 140,226,267,268 

■Le Due, W. G., publisher of Year Book 2u 

Lee, Gen. Robert E., mentioned 323 

Legislature, action of, on death of Ex-Governor Swift 96 

first session of / 236, 319, 357 

Legislation in Territorial days, described 206 

Le Seuer, the explorer, mentioned : 2, 6, 3.W' 

LewLi & Clarke's exploring expedition, referred te 284 

Library of the Minnesota Historical Society 13 

Lincoln, Abraham, President, referred to 216, 217, 280 

Little Falls Creek, Hennepin county, mentioned 369 

Little Crow, the Dakaot Chief ..lOO, 113, 122, 124, 131, 163, 161. 162, 166, 166, 251, 

263,263,318,319 

Little Crowds Village, or Kaposla, which see 

Little Rapids (of Minnesota River) 134, 172, 173, 174, 178, 247, 250, 386 

Little Six (or Shakopee) which see 

Little Six's Village. See Shakopee, town of 

Llvmgston, Miss Ruth (Mrs. Henry A. Swift) .92 

London, England, referred to 353 

Long, Steve, and Bro., hotel-keepers at St. Paul 399 

Long, Maj. Stephen H., U. S. A 16,68,185 

Longfellow. H. W.,hls " Hiawatha '' quoted 256 

Longfoot, a Dakota Indian, mentioned 133 

Longiey, Thos. L., a missionary assistant 121 

Long Prairie, Minnesota, mentioned 234,-236 

Loomi3,Col. Gustavus, mentioned 116,117 

Loras, Bishop of Dubuque 223, 224, 228 

J/Ord, Mr., a resident of Meudota in 1840 225 

Lorenzo (Lawrence) a friendly Dakota 86, 126 

Louis XVL, King of France, mentioned. . . i. 362 

Louiniana, history of \ ... 14, 15 

Louisiana ville, Mo., town of 141 

Lower Sioux agency 111,113, 125,269 

Lowry, Gen. S. B., appointed Adjutant General of Minnesota ....816 

Loyola, Ignatius, mentioned 335 

Lucie G., United States Interpreter 144 

Ludden, Hon. J. D.. author of Chamber of Commerce reports 63 

Lumbermen, pioneer, of Minnesota 210 

Lumber business, notices of 270 

Lynd, Hon. J. W., memoir of '. 107 

Lynd, Rev. S. W., D. D., mentioned 107 

McCall, Col., a British officer 175 

McClung, John W., author of books 24,63 

McCracken, Miss Laviuia (Mrs. Martin Scott) 186 

McDonald, Donald, an early ti'ader 248 

McDowell, Gen. Irwin, U. S. A., mentioned 322 

McKfnzie,an Indian trader in Indiana 270 

McLean, MaJ. Nathaniel, early settler in Minnesota 273 

McLellan. Gen. Geo. B., mentioned 323 

McLeod, Martin, one of the pioneers of Minnesota 243 

McMastf rs. Dr. James M 297 



422 HIXNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

McMasten. S. R 2tB 

Rev. Sterling Y., memoir of 296 

do, references to 306,309,323 

McNalr, Col., mentioned In Forsyth's Journal IW 

McNldes&Co., Importers, of Quebec 168 

Mackinac, Mich., mentioned. lOl, 170, 172, 173, 174, 176, 176, 192, 193, 278, 338 

Macomb, Gen. Alex, (J. S. A 197 

Magner, James, govt, farmer to the Dakotas 403 

Magnider, Capt. J. B., U. S. A 320 

Ma-kpe— ya-ka-bo*toc, a Dakota brave 383,894,306 

Maiden, Canada, referred to 167 

Man-of -the-sky, a Dakota chief 368 

Mandans, nation of .* 284r384 

Mankato, Minnesota, mentioned 27, 29 66, 126, 127, 128, 274, 280, 379, 380, 387. 

391, 403 

Manomln, a "rythmical romance on Minnesota." 60 

Map, the first ever made of this region 2 

prepared by FUlemon, In 1688 2 

drawn In 1687 by Frauquelln, a French topographer 2 

Marble, Mrs. Margaret A., a rescued prisoner 380, 892; 383, 394, 396, 396, 388, 399 

Marcy, Gen. R. B., U. S. A 187 

Marine, Minnesota, mentioned 270 

Markham, Moms, of Spirit Lake 389 

Marriages, mentioned 117,122,128,186,360 

Marquette, Rev. James, mentioned 336, 346, 361 

lown of, mentioned 361 

Marsh Villages, (or Slssetons,) which see 

Marshall, Rev. Thomas, of Mankato, noticed 66 

Marshall, Hon. Wm. R., references to 22. 49, S|6, 237 

MarstoB, Maj., U. 8. A 148 

Martin, Mr., a resident of Mendota &1840 226 

Maryland, State of , mentioned 323 

Maskoutins, attack some frenchmen at Ft. L'HuilUer ii 

Mason, Gov., of Michigan 347 

Masonic works noticed 44 

Massacre at Spirit Lake, Iowa 100,386,388,407 

Springfield, Minnesota 407 

Massacre by Daketas, in 1862 34, 36, 81, 82, 93, lOO, 113, 126, 191, 218. 242, 248, 

260, 261, 264, 269, 276, 279, 3fl», SOOT 

Mastersen, Henry F .'..326 

Mattocks, Gov. John, of Vermont 304,308 

Mattocks, Rev. John, memoirs, or sketches of 304, 207, 310, 312 

John,ot Chieago 812 

Mattson , Hans, author of emigration documents 26 

Mazakootamane, Paul, a loyal Dakota 82, 128, 386. 400 

Maxfield, J. T., Mayor of St. Paul 826 

Medewakantonwans, tribe of Dakotas 86, 86, 250, 221 , 387 

Meade, Gen. G. K., mentioned 348 

Meat, how preserved by early French traders 6 

Medary, Samuel, Governor of Minnesota 321, 307, 399, 490 

Medicine men, Dakota 368, 376 

Medicine Wood (Gray Cloud Island), which see 

Mediterranean Sea, mentioned 362 

Meeker, Judge Bradley B., Territorial Supreme Judge 271, 278 

Menomonles, or Folle Avoine band, mentioned 146, 197 



IHTDEX, 423 

Mendota, or " St. Peters/' mentioned, 7f , 138, 154. 178, 194, 196, 201, 225, 227. 228, 

229, 345, 246, 257, 258, 264, 265, 206, 267, 260. 319. 361, 3t5, 387 

Menomonee Biver, Wis 338 

Mesnard, Kene, a Jesalt explorer 335 

Mexican War mentioned 187,315,326,328 

Mlchlfan, State of 266, 2n, 278, 347 

Mlchlllmacklnac. or " Mackinac," which see ^ 

Miles. General U. 8. A., mentioned 293 

Mille Lacs, Lake, first appears on a map 2 

Miller, Hon. Stephen, Ex-Governor of Minnesota. 322 

Milwaukee, Wis., mentioned 199,228,280 

Mineral Point, Wis., mentioned , 232 

Wealth of Lake Superior 354 

Mines, ancient, on Lake Superior 334 

recent, " 340,345 

of Wisconsin 232 

of Dubuque, lead 144,145 

Minnehaha, Falls of *. : 133 

Minneapolis, City of 27,28,29,215, 218 219.220,360,367,369 

Minnesota, the earliest settlement of 351 

the name probably OJibwa 337 

early days in 276 

as described by Col. Dousman in 1834. 194 

only one house between St. Paul and Prairie du Chien in 1834 365 

its climate as described in 1700 9 

the first Christian church organized in 369, 374 

the character of its pioneers 244 

its early courts and Incidents thereof 267 

changes affecting its boundaries, &c 265 

organization of the Territory of 236, 209, 271, 279 

list of town and county histories 26 

works descriptive of 13, 19 

the population of 275 

the scenery of 274 

its rapl d growth 276 

its troops in the war of secessien 43,275 

election of delegates 237.270 

see massacre of 1862 

some notes of Journalism 273 

agriculture in " 160,269.270 

Old Settlers Association 239 

Editorial Association 201 

State geological survey 360 

various references. . ..| 196. 201, 202, 207, 209, 210, 215, 216 

Mlnnesuta Historical Society, mentioned. . . .37, 67, 96, 112, 124, 222. 230, 231, 244, 

267, 297, 306, 336, 366, 357, 384 

Minnesota Point, Minnesota 350 

Minnesota Biver, mentioned 2, 7, 6d, 54, 172, in, 190, 245, 346, 247, 250, 269, 

284, 374, 386, 388, 890. 403 

Mission, among the Dakotas, success Of 119,125,268 

Missions, among Indians 37,115 

Mississippi Biver, first map ever drawn of 2 

discovery of sources, by Beltrami 11 

gazetteer of 82 

upper, hydrography of 38 



424 MIKNESOTA mSTORICAL OOLLECTIOITS. 
Mississippi River, mentioned 5, 41. !28, 161, 161, 171, 18$, 188. 210, 222, 223, 

226, 226, 23S, 243, 246, 260, 264, 266, 264, 267, 279, 346, 373, 386, 

Missouri Hirer, mentioned 280, 282, 288, 284, 336, 349, 375, 380, 387, 407 

Mitchell, W. H., author of county histories 27, 28, 29 

Molino del Rey, Mexico, battle of 187 

Monona, Iowa, mentioned 281, 282, 238 

Montana, Territory of, mentioned 286,290,292 

Montcalm de Marquis, mentioned 169 

Monterey, Mexico, battle of 187 

Montreal, Canada, mentioned 168,246,246,339,340,341,343 

Mooers, Hazen, an early fnr trader 148,167,248 

Moore, Geo. W. an early publisher of Minnesota 46, 47, 62, 65, 67 

Moore, Thomas, quoted 398 

Morality, of the early settlers 272 

Mormon war, mentioned 397 

Morrison Allan, an early fnr trader 248, 344 

William, an early fur trader 344 

Morse, Prof,a son of , mentioned 402,403 

Mos«, Fort, mentioned 350 

Mound Builders, the, mentioned 335, 3M 

Monsseau, Charles, a pioneer of Minnesota 227 

Murphy, MaJ. R. O., Indian agent 83,190 

Murray, Lieutenant lOth United States Infantry 391, 382, 402, 406, 407 

Mosquetoes. abundance of 144 

Myrlck. Andrew, a trader's clerk 112,114 

Nathan, one of the pioneers of Minnesota 319 

Name of Minnesota, probably of OjlbwaoriAln 337 

Napashnee, Mary(J. W. Lynd'swife) ill 

Nape Schneedoota, first male Dakota Christian 128, 188 

NaudowcMies, the Dakotas so called by Hennepin isi 

Navigation on Lake Superior- 346 

Nebraska, State of, mentioned 287,292,380 

Neill, Rev. E.D., paper by. 1 

reference to his works, &e 22,84,36,39,63,56,68,306 

Nelson, Socrates, a pioneer of Minnesota 316 

NepigonBay. Lake Superior 360,353 

Nettleton, Wm., an early resident on Lake Superior 360 

New Albany, Indiana, mentioned 316 

Newlngton, Miss Emily 823 

Newson, MaJ. T. M., of St. Paul 66,63,106 

Newspapers. See Journalism in Minnesota 

New Ulm, Minnesota, mentioned 98,279,280,391 

NewY ork, mentioned 201.204,228,212,304,308,344 

Indians of 123 

Niagara Falls, referred te 333 

Nlchosl,Rev. H. M„ drowned ...66 

Nicollet. I. N., the explorer 11, 18,36,286,264,349 

Nineveh and Palmyra, referred^to 362 

Niobrara, D.T 881 

Noble. Rev. F. A., mentioned 56 

Noble, Mrs., taken captive by Inkpadnta's band 889, 397, 400 

Nobles, Col. Wm. H., his wagon road to California 31 

Norris, Hon. James S., an early settler of Minnesota 270 

North Carolina, mentioned ^ 296 

Northern Fur Company 846 

Northern Pacific Railroad 4,48,66,218,861 



IKDEX. 425 

Northfield, Minnesota, mentioned 62 

Northwest Fur Companly 160, 170, 173, 174, 176, 340, 343, 346, 348 

Northwest Territory ^t 277 

Norwood, Dr. J. G., tbe geolofrist 3B0 

Nose-biting, a Dakota pastime 100 

Oakes, Charles H., an early fur trader 248.344 

Oak Grove, Minnesota, mentioned 120, 122, 356, 361 

Oakland cemetery, St. Paul 327 

O'Brien, Dillon, his book mentioned 59 

Officer, Mrs. HaiTey , (Miss Gorman.) 824 

Ocden, Lieut. E. A.. U. 8. A 117 

Ohio, State of, mentioned 277, 860, 361, 872, 374, 875, 878 

Ohio, Biver, referred to 3, 336 

Ohio yalley, referred to 884 

OJibwas, principal tribe of Lake Superior... 336 

cede land on Lake Superior 346 

strategy of 361 

their feud with the Dakotas 129,132,338 

general references 197, 248 

Oliver's Grove, (Hastings.) 209 

Old Settlers Association, of Minnesota 289 

Olmsted, David, a pioneer of Minnesota 31, 210, 231 

Page, (brother of David.) 231,232 

Timothy, (father of David.) 231 

Olmsted county, Minnesota 27, 239 

Omahas, tribe of 884 

One-legged Jim. a Dakota brave ., 99 

Oswego. N. Y., mentioned 349 

Otchaga, a Dakota chief, draws first map, etc 2 

Oiher- Day, John, a loyal Dakota 99,126,896,400,404,406 

Mrs., her destitute eondition loi 

Owen, David Dale, the Geologist 18,360 

Owens. John P., a pioneer journalist 67, 273, 274 

Pacific Ocean 351 

Pa-Ju-ta-zi-zi. (a Yellow Medicine,) which see 

Palmyra, Missouri, mentioned 296 

Pilo Alto, battle of 187 

Parkipan, Francis, his works mentioned 14 

Parrant, Pierre, the first settler of St. Paul 267 

Patten, Major, U. S. A 407 

Paul, the apostle, mentioned 227,877 

Paul, see Mazakootemame, Paul 

Pea^e River, British North America 341 

Pellamorgues, Rev. Joseph, of Dubuque 228,224 

Pembina, D. T., mentioned 188,186,266 

Penicaut, or Penicaud, author of Relation, etc it 2, 6 

Ponitentlary of Minnesota, reference to 272 

Pennsylvania, State of.. 280,873 

Peoria, III., mentioned 146 

Perrot, Nicholas, an early explorer. 2,6,14 

Perry's victory on Lake Erie 362 

Petit Rocher, on Minnesota River. 134 

Pettljohn, Eli, mentioned 819 

Pettijohn, Jonas, " 122,123 

Phelan, 'Edward, an early resident of St. Paul 226, 226, 279 

Phelps, Prof. Wm. F., address by » 



426 MIKKESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. 

Pbniip8,Wm.D., an early resident of St. Paul 3T2 

Pictured Rocks, Lake Superior 358 

Fie Island, ** 863 

Pierce, Franklin, President of the United States 316 

Pieison. A. T.O., Masonic works b J 44 

Pigeon River, Lake Superior 1.343,347,960 

.Pig's Eye Bar, Minnesota 227,267 

Pike, Gen. Z. M., U. S, A. 16,38,140.160,156 

Pike's Island, Mississippi Rlrer 176,177 

Pilgrims of New England, landing of 368 

Plllsbury, John S., Governor of Minnesota 326 

Pmicbon, a Dakota Chief 164,156.166 

Plympton, Major U. S. A 225 

Poage, Col. James, of Kentucky 373 

Miss Margaret (Mrs, T. S. Williamson) 360, 367, 873 

Miss Sarah (Mrs. G. H. Pond) 116, 117,300,362, 367, 373 

Pulnt an Sable, Lake Pepin 166, 197 

Pakegama, Minnesota 134 

Political Struggle of 1860-6O 112 

Pollgaiuy among the Dakotas . . : 89, 129, 188 

Poncas, the tribe of 384 

Pond, Rev. Edward R., a missionary to the Dakotas 128, 362 

Mi-s. Edward R., (Miss Mar)' F. Hopkins) 128, 382 

Mr. and Mrs. Elnathan J., (parents of Rev. G. H.). 366 

Rev. Gideon H., memoirs of 366 

do, references to, 38, 37, 39, 115, 117, 120, 122, 123, 127, 130, 268, 

362,373, 376 

Pond, Mrs. G, H., (Miss Poage) 116,117,360,362,367. 370, 873 

•• (Mrs. Hopkins) 361,363,370 

Rev. Samuel W., his papers on Indian Warfare 129 

** various references, 87, 49, 115, 116, 118, 120, 123, 268, 358, 364 

366, 367, 373 

Pond, Mrs. S. W.,(Mlss Cordelia Eggleston) 118 

Pope, Gen. John, mentioned 19, 280, 281, 286. 323 

Rev. John D.. a St. Paul Clegryman 66,62 

Portage des Sioux (Mississippi River) 140,143,160 

Portage, Wisconsin, mentioned 147 

Porter, Gov. Geo. B., of Michigan 278 

Portland, Maine, mentioned 360 

Port Vincent, Indian a, mentioned 170 

Potose, Wisconsin, mentioned 232 

Pottawattomies, tribe of, referred to 170, 171 

Potter, Rev. Joshua, mentioned 122,123 

Powder River, Montana 286, 287, 288, 291 

Prairie du Cbien, Wis., mentioned 77, 118, 140, 143, 144, 146. 167, 158, iw, 163, 

164, 165, 166, 173, 174, 176. 176, 183, 186, 192, 193, 194, 196. 197, 199, 200, 226, 228. 

228, 229, 232, 233, 245, 265, 257, 264, 266. 268, 346, 365 

Pre-hlstorlo races, uf I^ake Superior 334 

Prescott, Geo. W., appointed Supt of Public Instruction 316 

Prescott. Philander, mentioned 36, 104, 248, 318, 380 

PrescottHWisconsin, town of 138 

Pretty Ral nbo w, a Dakota maiden 188 

Prince, Hon. John S , of St Paul 326 

Prisoners, among the Indians 83, 84, 100, 126. 280, 389, 390 

Provencalle, LouU, a trader 174,247 

Provencher, Rev., Bishop of St Boniface 220 



OTDEX. 427 

Fueblft, Hezieo, battle of 316 

Purcell, Dr. Edward, surgeon at Ft. Snelliug 166 

Pusey, Hon Pennock, his statistical reports 22 

Quakers, recommended for Indian agents les 

Quebec, fall of , noticed .> .* 168,343 

Quinn, Patriek, an Interpreter at Ft. SnelUng 130 

Quash-qua-mie, a Sac chleL 148 

Bailroads, the 3 per cent tax 316 

Bailroads, the first on Lake Superior 361 

Aaimbault, or Baymbault, an early Jesuit explorer 336, 361 

Bamaley, David, a Minnesota publisher 46,47,64,62,68,60 

Ram8ey;aon.Alex, ex-GOT. OfMlnn 68,62,94,236,271.322,306,363 

Bamsey County, mentioned 266 

Ramsey Ck>unty Bar Association 326,32<« 

Bapids of the Mississippi Biver ' 141,144 

Battling Bunner, a Dakota brave 86 

Bavoux, Bev. Augustln, an early missionary 42, 178, 223, 228, 269 

Bebelllon,the,see*'War of Secession" 

Bed Cloud, a Dakota chief 287,291 

Bed Iron, a Dakota chief 320 

Bedisson, or Badisson, an early explorer l 

Beed,Mr. an old hunter In Minnesota 267 

Belation of Pe nlcaud 4 

Bed Biver of the North, mentioned 4,66, 166,226,220, 276,284 

Bed Wing, Town of 29,51,64,66.118,130,138,153,186,250,387 

Bed Wing, aDakotaChief 146,147,148,163,166 

Bed Wood, Iowa ,.171 

Bed Wood, Minnesota, mentioned 260, 318, 319, 320, 888, 40^ 

Bed Wood Biver, Minnesota, mentioned 101 , 113 

Beligion among the Daketas 380, 381 

Beminiscences of early days in Minnesota, (Sibley) 242 

Bono, Capt. J.L.,IT.S.A. 20, 298 

BenviUe, J. B. a Dakota half breed 41,128, 380 

.BenvUie,A. do do 128 

BenvlUe, Mrs. do do 188 

BenviUe, Gabriel, a friendly Sisseton chief 80 

BenviUe, Joseph, a Christian Dakota 38, 116, 118, 121. 124, 247, 374, 

375, 376, 380 

Besaca de la Palma, battle of.... ^ 187 

Bevolutionary War 372 

Bhodes, H. C, a Winnebago Trader 234 

Bhode Island, State of 213,277 

Bice, Hon. H. M., a pioneer of Minnesota 235, 237, 248, 318, 

326, 344, 345, 347 

Bice, Orrin, a resident on Lake Superior 360 

Bice County, mentioned 28 

Bichardson, an early trader — 120 

Bichelieu, Cardinal 862 

Bichmond, Virginia 328 

Biggs, A. L 363 

Biggs, Mrs. Mary A. L 38,40,116,120 

Biggs, Bev. Stephen B., papers by 107,116,366,372 

Biggs, Bev. Stephen B., mentioned 36, 37, 82, 116, 120, 123, 124, 127, 268, 

366, 367, 368, 366, 384, 383, 396, 306 

Bipley, O. mentioned 872,373,374 

46 



428 HIIWESOTA HISTOSIGAL OOLLEOTIOKS. 

Bobertson, D. A., ftn eaily pfublisher 00,61,87,287,273,326 

Bobertson, a trader among the Sioux .' 157 

Bochester, Minn., mentioned 60 

Bock KiTer, Minn., mentioned 387,386 

BockyBiver.ni., mentioned..^ 142,168 

Bocque, Aiigustln, an early trader among Dakotabs 196, 216, 219 

Biriette, Joseph. 8r 178,193,194,190 

Bonde an, Joseph, a pioneer settler in St. Fanl 226 

Boot, Hon. Joseph, M. C. from Ohio 269 

Bum Biver, Minn 134,137 

Bussell, B. P., a pioneer of Minn 316 

Sacs ahd Fexes, tribe of 188, 140, 141, 142, 168, 164, 166, 167, 171, 264, 2S7, 262, 

373,386, 387 

Saint Anthony, town Of 26, 27, 29,62,128,272 

Saint Anthony,Fall8 of 8,6, 27,28,29,166,210 

SalntCroixCounty, Wis. and Minn 202, 210, 236, 267 

Saint Croix. Falls of 244, 262 

Saint Croix Biver 2, 8, 6, 99, 131, 138, 134, 163, 196, 201, 200, 210, 226, 228, 247, 252 

282,270 

Saint Denis, M. de commander Of Fort in La 10,11 

Saint Ignaoe Island, Lake Superior 353 

Saint Joseph's river, Ind 170 

Saint Joseph's rlYer,Mioh 347 

Saint Lawrence river 337 

Saint Louis, city of 189, 142, 144, 146, 147, 148, 148, 168, 160, 163, 196, 225, 227, 

229, 343 

Saint Louis river 338 

Saint Mary's river -....173. 346,347 

Saint Paul, city of, mentioned 31, 61, 64, 66, 61, 62, 68, 82, 121, 122, 133, 202, 

204, 200, 211, 222, 224, 227, 228, 228, 237, 288, 246, 248, 268, 268, 272, 281, 296, 296, 
304. 310, 314, 316, 817, 318, 321, 322, 323. 325, 339, 310, 367, 363, 366, 371, 378, 382, 

886, 407 
SaintPeter, town of 92,93,100,379,382,384 

Saint Peter's (Mendota) 169, 162 

Saint Peter's river,(or Minn, river) 140, 146, 148, 148, 151, 154, 167, 163, 164, 

166, 166, 172, 176, 225 

Saint Pierre, Legardeur de, a French officer 3 

Sample, Bev. B. F. a Minneapolis clergyman 67 

Sanborn, Gen. John B., of St. Paul, paper contributed by, 67, 310 

, mentioned 285,328 

Sand Prairie, Minn 250 

Sankatchewan river, British North America 341 

Sauk Bapids, Minn 235,236 

Sauks, or Sacs, tribe of 141, 142,164,167 

8auk,warof 1832 139 

Sault St Marie 166,278,333,336,336,340,343,344,346,347,350,352,364,338 

SauvoUe, M. de., mentioned in Penicaod's Ms 4 

Say, Thos., the naturalist of Long's expedition 16 

Scalps, war parties in pursuit of 137 

Scarlet Eagle Tail, a friendly Dakota chief 88 

Scarlet Point, see Ink-pa-du-ta 

Scenery, of Lake Superior 352 

Schoolcraft, EL B., his works quoted 17,36,310,337,338346,347 

Schools and Colleges in Minn 61 

Scott, Capt Martin, memoir of 180 

Scott, Gen, Wlnfleld 78,322 

Scriptures, translating into Dakota 116,120 



INDEX. 429 

Sebastian, W. K. ex-Sen., from Ark 330 

Se-ha-ho-to, a Dakota brave 385,393,394 

Senator, U. 8., seleetlon of 94 

Seymour, E. S„ author of work on Minn 19 

Shakopee, or Little Six, (the elder,) a Dakota chief 80, 113, 166, 132, 154 

Shakopee, (the younger) 81 

Shakopee, town of 123,186.136,280,366 

Shanley, Rev. John 327 

Shea, Dr. Jno. G., his works referred to 15 

Shepherd, Capt 113 

Shepherd, D. C, a civil engineer 340 

Sherman, Gen. Thos. W 406 

Sherman, Gen. W. T 287, 292 

Sheridan, Gen, Phil 288, 290, 292 

Shields, Hon. James, Senator from Minn 48 

Sibley, Henry H., papers and addresses by 68, 99, 168, 192. 242, 307, 346, 384 

sketch of his life 277 

birth and education 278 

employed by American Fur Ck> 193, 278 

Dousman persuades him to come to Minn 194 

becomes a resident of Mendeta 195,246,278,364 

becomes partner in Amer. Fur <3o 245 

his hunting adventures in early days 184, 254 

violates an Indian "game law" 260 

attacked by Sacs and Foxes 261 

elected an elder of the church at Fort Snelling. 116 

appointed first Justice of the Peace in Minn 266. 279 

boundary changes, an d shifting citizenship 265 

marriage 279 

selected to buy site of St. Paul in 1848 246 

elected delegate to Congress 270, 279 

secures passage of bill to organise the Territory 279 

foreman of first grand ]ury in Dakota (3o ,.267 

contributions to the press referred to 271 

elected Governor of Minn 279 

appointed <3ol. to quell the Indian outbreak 279 

sketch of his military operations 126 

rescuing captives from Sioux 87, 280 

becomes a resident of St. Paul 246 

executes 38 Indian murderers 280 

commissioned as Brig. General 280 

appointed Brevet MaJ. General 282 

Expedition of 1863 282 

note on his personal appearance 270 

various references to 104, 182, 236, 318, 319, 326, 366 

Sibley, Solomon, (father of H, H. S.) 277 

Sibley County, Minn 202 

Silver Islet, Lake Superior.... 863,365 

Silver Ore, on Lake Superior 340,365 

Simon, or Anywanymane, a friendly Dakota 86, 89, 119, 126, 128, 190 

Simpson, Gen. J. H., U.8.A 67 

Simpson, the Arctic explorer 279 

Sioux, the, seeDakotas 

Sioux Massacre, see "Massacre of 1862" 

Sissetons, (or Marsh Villagers) tribe of 84,86,260 

Sitting Bull, a Dakota rebel / 289,290,291,29 



430 ICIKKESOTA HISTOBIOAL OOIXEOTIONS. 

SkunkLake 897 

Slarery negro, reference to 372, 873 

Smith, A. C. of Litchfield. Masonic author 44 

Smith. Bobert A., of St. Paul 816 

Smithsonian Institute 124.268,886 

Snake River, Minnesota 2 

Snyder. Harmon, a Gov't, blacksmith, in Iowa 233 

Snel ling, Mrs. Abigail, (since Mrs. Chaplin) 78 

Snelling, Col. Joslah, commander at Ft. Snelling 77, 197, 177, 185 

Snelling, Wm. J., (son of (^ol. J,) an author 78 

Snow Shoes, 'Hovelling on 390, 391 , 401 

Soldiers Lodge, among the Dakotas, 251 

Soldiers of Minnesota 217,220 

Sorin, Rev. M., a pioneer clergyman 55 

South Carolina 372 

Spencer, Geo. H., a captive rescued 86 

Spirit Lake, Iowa 386,387,388,880,391,308 

Spirit Lake Massacre, see *'Iakpaduta Massacre" 

Springfield, III 213 

Springfield, Minn 387,388,389 

Spofford, A. B., Libr'n. of Congress, purchases fenlcaud's MS 2 

Sproat,Col. Ebenezer 277 

Sproat, Miss Sarah W 2n 

Starkey , James, of St. Paul 6i , 396 

State University of Minnesota 272, 360 

Steamboat, first, at Ft Snelling 103 

Steamboating in early days 140 

Steele, Franklin, a pioneer of Minnesota 248,318 

Steele, Miss Sarah J. (Mrs. H. H. Sibley) 279 

Steele County, referred to 28 

Stevens, Gen. Isaac, explorer of N. P. B. B. route 48 

Stevens, Bev. Jedediah D., a missionary 115,116 

Stevens, Jno. H. a pioneer of Minnesota 26, 28, 60, 274 

Stevens, Miss Lucy Cornelia, mission teacher. ... ! 116,118 

Stevens Miss, (Mrs.Olmsted) ; 237 

Stillwater, Minn., mentioned 200, 270, 272 

Stillwater (Convention, the 202 

Stone, Ellis, of Bloomington, Ind 314 

Stone, Gen., U. S. A 323 

Stone, Miss Martha. (Mrs. W. A. Gorman) 323,324 

Strike-the-Pawnees, a Dakota 85 

Stuart, Bobt. an early fur trader 344, 346 

Sugar maple, referred to in Penicaud's MS 9 

Sumpter, fall of 322 

Superior, Lake. See Lake Superior .' 

Superior, town of 848 

Surgeres, M. de, mentioned by Penicaud 4 

Surveys of Lake Superior 348 

Swan Lake, Minn 260 

Swift, ex-Gov. Henry A., memoir of 91 

Synod of Minn. 363.371,377,382 

Sykes, Gen., U. S. A 326 

Ta-ha-mie, a celebrated Dakota brave 160. 165 

Taliaferro, MaJ. Lawrence, Indian agent at Ft Snelling 76, 130, 131, 369 

Tanner, John, Indian captive, referred to l. 

Taylor, Hon. J. W.,his worlu, mentioned 32,34,44,74 

Taylor, Gen. Zach, U. S. A 212 , 315 



nn)Bx. 431 

Ta-8i^g1, a Wa*pe-ku-te chief. 387 

Tate-miiie, a Dakota Indian 130 

Territory of Minn, organized 260 

Territory of Minn. , first bond issued 395 

Tetons. tribe of. 284,876,381 

Thatcher, Mrs., a prisoner of Inkpaduta*s raid 380, 397 

Theology among the Dakotas 121 

Thomas, Mr., builds a post on Cedar Biver 264 

Thompson, Benj., an Indian trader ; 102 

Thompson, S., kills a Sauk Indian 143 

Thompson, Samuel, killed by the Sauks 164 

Thunder Bay, Lake Superior 351,363 

Thunder-that-makes-ltself blue,aDakota man 85 

Thurseau, a merchant of Quebec 168 

Tides, solar and lunar, on Lake Superior 348 

Tlascala, Mexico, battle of 315 

Tovin sites, in Minn 211 

Traders of early days, in Minn 247, 339 

Translating Dakota books 87 

Translating bible Into Dakota 366,376,376,382,384 

Travels, in Minnesota and Northwest, works relating to 18 

Traverse de Sioux. Minn 30, 110, 121 , 122, 123, 128, 247, 260, 260, 361, 374 

Transportation, in early days 140 

Treaty ofl783 .' 343 

Treaty for Michigan 277 

Treaty by Leavenworth in 1821 $ 177 

Treaty by Cass, 1820 346 

Treaty of Prairie duChien, (1825) 345,346 

Treatyof 1826 .. 346 

Treaty with Tetons, &c., 1826 286 

Treaty by Sacs and Poxes, 1842 386 

Treaty of 1842 at La Point, Lake Superior 346 

Treaty by Wlnnebagoes, 1846 234 

Treaty of Fond du lac, 1847 346 

Treaty of Ft. Laramie, 1861 .....286 

Treaty of Traverse de Sioux, 1861 123,272,362,378,387 

Treaty of 1854, (La Polnte) \ 346 

Treaty of Ft. Wise, Kan., 1861 285 

Treaty by Red Cloud, 1860 287 

Treatyof 1865 286 

Treaties with Sioux of upper Mo ,. 282 

Treaties of peace bet Sioux and Ojlbwas 76 

Trees, in Minnesota, described by Penlcaud 9 

Trempeleau, Wis 161 

Tumbling Rock, (Rolling Stone?) River 152 

Turkey River, Iowa 146,168,232 

Turner, Dr., surgeon, U. S. A 225,261 

Turpin , A., a pioneer of Minnesota 226 

Tuttle, Rev. J. U. Minneapolis •. 210 

Utah, exped. against 397 

Van Cleve, Mrs. Charlotte O., her reminiscences of Fort Snelllng 76 

Van Cleve, Mrs. C. O., paper by 103 

Vandever W., government Inspector 282 

Van Ingen, Rev, J. V., D. D., referred to 54 

Veranderie, begins his discoveries in 1728 3 

Vermillion River, Minn 387 

Vermont, state of "•* 186, 281,237,230,304,306,343,344 



432 MINNESOTA HISTOBIOAL COLLEOTIONB. 

Verplanck J. A. govt agent 346 

Virginia, the first steaml)oat at Fort Bnelling 103 

Vose. MaJ. Josiah H., U. S. A 165 

Voyagears, tlieir character, &c 109, 171, 246, 246, 276, 941, 342, 364 

Wabash Blver 170 

Wabasha, (The Leaf.) $t Dalcota chief.. 130. 146, 161, 162, 154, 165. 236, 251, 264,318, 319 

Wabasha Prairie, Wluona 236.250 

Wabasha, town of 118, 133, 150,196,319,365 

Wacondaw Prairie 141 

Wages of Fur Co. Clerks... 171 

Wahkpetons or Leaf Villagers 84, 99, 172,260 

Waki»ekutes, tribe of 174,250,387,388 

Wakefield. Mrs. Sarah F., six weeks in the Sioux teepees 36 

Walker, Orange, a pioneer of Minn 270 

Wam-dl-sapa. a Dakota outlaw 387 

War, Minnesota in 43 

War of the fur companies 341 

War customs of the Dakotas 136 

Warfare of Dakotas and OJibwas 36,120,137,161,252,361,403 

War of 1812 160, 174,180,343,382 

War Of secession 43, 66, 198,217,294,296,311, 321,322,329 

Warren, Gen. G. K„ U, b. A., his reports on the Upper Missisippl S3 

Warren, Lyman, an early trader 344 

Waseca County, Minn., histoid 28 

Washington, City, D.C 217,284.249,288,271,279,321,322,323,366 

Wasloja,Mlnn 51 

Watab Blver, Minn.. 345 

Watkins. E. C. Insp.*of Ind'n. Agencies 290, 292 

Watonwan Blver, Minn. 388, 391 

We bster, Dan '1 , mentioned 315 

Weeks, Helen C. , authoress 35 

Wells, Jas., an early trader 248 

Wentworth, " Long John," of Chicago 216 

West Point graduates in the army 181 

Wheelock. J. A., Minnesota Journalist 22,274 

Whipple, Cora. Abraham 277 

Whipple, Bp. H. B.,of Minnesota CT.89,9o 

Whisky, called "milk" by Indians 160 

Whistler, Capt.,U.8.A 167 

White Bustard, or •* L'Outard Blanche," a Dakota chief 164, 166, 166 

White Earth Agency, Minnesota 344 

White Fish, legend regarding 33b 

White Lodge, a Dakota 85 

White, Peregrine, first white child bom lu Massachusetts 218 

Wiilting, Capt Sam, 239 

Whitney, A. J 316 

Whitney, J. D. the geologist 360 

Whittlesey, Chas., the geologist 22, 360 

Wilkinson, M. S., compiler of the "Be vised Code" 66 

WlUard, J. A., of Mankato .' 28,29 

WUliaras,Bev. E. 8., of Minneapolis, referred to 66 

Williams, J. F., works by '. 24.62 

Williams J. F., papers written by 13, 91, 180, 201, 213, 231, 30^ 

Williams, J. F., foot notes by IV, 76. 77, 79, 82. 104, 122, 141, 

149. 160, 163, 164, 160, 321, 339, 319, 361, 384 

Williamson, And'w. W., 383,384 

Williamson, Miss Jane S., 121 



INDEX« 433 

WilllamsoD, Bev. John P., a missionary to tlie Dakotas . . ..40, 41, 124, 125, 127, 

368, 379, 881, 388. 

Williamson, Lizzie Hunter 883 

Williamson, Mrs. Marg't 860,367,373 

Williamson, Nannie, 383 

Williamson, Smith Burgess 383 

Williams, Thos., (father of T.S. W.) 372 

Williamson, Bev. Thos. S., his historical sermon noticed 53 

memoir of Napeshneedota, and other papers,.. 189, 283 

memoir of, (Biggs) 372 

mentioned, 36, 38, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 124,127, 233, 

268, 346, 366, 367, 361, 367, 393, 305 

Williamson, Rev. Wm 372 

Wilson, C. L., Chicago 214 

Wilson, Hon. James, of N. H. (M. O.X 271 

Wilson (Bob. G,)D.D., of 370 

WUlowRiyer (Hudson), Wis 228 

Winchell, N. H., State Geologist of Minn 350 

Windoin, Wm., Minnesota Congressman 49 

Winged* Prairie, or Prairie aux Ailes, (Winona). 6, 157^ 166 

Winnehagoes, are scientific begs^ars 147 

Winnebagoes, most turbulent and dangerous of northwestern savages. 197, 233, 235 

Winnebagoes, they gobble food from hotel tables 249 

Winnebagoes, removed from Iowa to Minn 234 

Winnebagoes, removed from Minn, after massacre of 1862 242 

Winnebagoes, other references 167. 174, 197, 233, 234, 248, 264, 373, 403 

Winnipeg, rebellion at 32 

Winona, Minn 5,26,27,43,62,160,157.165,236.237,239,250 

Wisconsin, Stale Of 192,196,108,232,265,270,279,280 

Wisconsin Histl. Society mentioned 139 

Wisconsin Blver 5,146,147 

Wolfe, Gen 168,843 

Women, how .treated by the Dakotas 89, 118,188,189 

Wood, Mrs. Martha B. (daughter of ez-Gov. Ctorman) *> 324 

Wood,Wm 387,389 

Wood,MaJ., U.S. A.his report 19 

Wood Lake, Minn 126,280 

Wood Lake, battle of lOi 

WoodBiver ^ 146 

Wyoming Territory 287,290,292 

Wright County, history of 27 

X. T. Fur Company 340 

Yale College 373 

Yanktons, tribe of 137,171,174,284,286,397,398,400 

Yellow Medicine, or Pajutazi-zi, Minn. . . .112, 123, 124, 125, 269, 284, 318, 378, 382, 396 

Yellow Medicine, agency at 393, 386, 397, 398 

Yellow Medicine Blver 888,402,403,404,407 

Yellowstone Blver 286,288 

Zit-kah-doo-tah, or Bed Bird, a Dakota 99 

Zombro, (or Driftwood) Blver, Minn 152 




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